So the first chapter of the Character Diaries for Alvaj - Season 1 is finished. I've compiled them all here for easy reading. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: Going Home
Entry 001 – First Released on Monday, June 29th, 2020
The Cycle of Yagra, 12th Cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation
Its finally happened, my ‘wife’ Avala’s older brother has angered the priest of Childya Village enough with his heretical talk about respect for women to be sacrificed next cycle. However, I for one won’t let that happen. I’ve contacted HQ and have permission to rescue Vran. Should this fail however, and I am caught in the act, I am to be extracted along with Avala away from this world.
On the one hand I would die to be able to go back to proper civilization. On the other hand, Vran’s life is in my hands. I can’t just let him die just so I can be free. I’m a Rank A agent of the Earth Intelligence Service after all! No! I will complete this mission and I will do it right. I still have many years before I have to leave my post.
As I write this, fourteen-year-old Avala is sleeping by the hearth. I often pity her. She’s technically my wife, but we both hate that fact. She was ‘sold’ to me at the age of eight. Elexia, the commander of the Intelligence Service at the time ordered me to do it, for the girl’s protection. She believed that Avala might in fact one day become a Yajixa, and the Republic is in desperate need of any advantage in the war against the Yajiran Empire and their Yajixa. Having a Yajixa of our own would be amazing.
Though we’ve been married six years now, I have never laid a hand on her in any sexual way. In fact, I’ve never even flirted with her, or looked at her like that. She’s too young. I myself was fourteen when I was assigned to this post, and sixteen when we were married. I’m twenty-two now.
All these years I’ve protected Avala, yet still she can’t even see me as anything but an oppressor, so ingrained into her mind is the concept that men oppress woman on this barbaric world of Evelon II. Her people are primitives, and yet the Athakarins were descended from human colonists who settled on this world two thousand years ago. There they met the Athakri, rebel Yajirans and had the first Athakarin kids. That was before the Yajirans came and wiped out everyone on the planet, and raised those same kids as the first of the current Athakarin civilization.
Anyway, I’m going to have to get lots of sleep before I attempt to rescue Vran next cycle. He’s due to be sacrificed later in the cycle, around the seventh or eighth bell toll. I pray to whatever long forgotten gods humanity used to worship that this all works out. I really don’t want to die, Avala would suffer so much if I did.
~ Allan Ali, Codename: Alvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 002 – First Released on Tuesday, June 30th, 2020
The Cycle of Ijar, 13th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Friday, 23rd of January 6099
After so long, I’m finally back to the Republic. The mission to rescue Vran was a failure. I got to him, but in the attempt to get him out of the undercroft of the village temple he was caught. I for one was not, but I know that once the Yajixa have his soul, its only a matter of time before they rip the secrets from him. That’s why I had to abandon the planet.
Of course, Avala decided to come with me. Once I revealed to her that I wasn’t Athakarin like her and was instead a Human. The only thing she had ever heard about humans were the legends of the Devalra, the Yajixa term for our race (which means ‘deviant’ in their tongue I’m told). The legends speak of how the Athakarins came from the joining of evil spirits – the Devalra – and good spirits – the Yaji. It is only a fragment of the truth, like most myths I guess. However, she hates the Yaji so much because of how they tell the Athakarins to treat women, that she was willing to work with me.
Anyway, we MELTed out of Evelon II, leaving the world behind and going to the planet of the Earth Intelligence Service HQ, Hydra III. Here the Republic of Earth works tirelessly to aid in the war effort against the Yajixa, a tiring war that has more or less been going on for four thousand years. Of course, it hasn’t been open warfare for a majority of that time, and the death toll is minimal, that’s because of what the Yajixa are.
The Yajixa are nasty. They can possess almost any race other than humans; they steal the souls of the dead, placing them in their mindscapes, something only non-humans have; and they are immortal, never dying of age and living for all eternity. They are terrifying.
I haven’t really had a proper education due to being on Evelon II since I was fourteen (technically I was too young to be made an Agent, but the woman in charge at the time cared little for protocol or law), but I’m pretty certain that humanity found out about the Yajixa during World War III. They had been infiltrating humanity by replacing important people with near human possessable aliens. However even I have heard the legends of Seraphim and Redeagle, the two humans that apparently exposed them all on their own, fighting through the war as well as the Yajixa-made COVID-19 that came part way through the brutality of World War III. I used to actually believe that legend when I was a kid.
Anyway, once back at HQ, both Avala and I were given our own separate quarters, and our marriage was properly annulled. Thank the stars. I always felt guilty about that. However, Commander Sylvia of the EIS wants to use Avala to take back Evelon II from the oppressive Yajixa that rule over it. Thus after using a KST (Knowledge and Skill Transfer) to train her in everything she needed to know, we went on our first mission back to Evelon II.
This one was as much a mission of revenge for Avala as it was an actual required mission. We were taking out the Childya Village Elder Priest – the man responsible for Vran’s death – who had been possessed by one of the five Yajixa Generals in charge of Evelon II known as Yvan. We don’t have the equipment to kill the Yajixa within him. Only other galactic powers we aren’t allied to or the near mythical Black Circle (the Black Ops division of the Republic of Earth) have those. However, we can make him flee the body, which is as good as we can ever do in this horrible war against the Yajixa.
Unfortunately, along the way we had to kill a few of the natives. But in my defence they did attack us first. We are not allowed to yet reveal to them our advanced tech, so we could not use stun settings of beam weaponry. Instead we were forced to kill them. It’s a shame. I knew some of those men from Childya Village. Some of them were actually reasonable, for a society that was extremely male centric, and horrible towards women that was.
Anyway, after that we had to signal for a pickup, and take shelter in an Athakri hideout in the world. It was a nice place, but that’s when we found something: Avala had awakened to being a Yajixa, yet she was very much still on our side. When we got back, Sylvia of course was overjoyed, and I was also glad. Hopefully now we’ll actually be able to fight them. Unfortunately, there are trillions of Yajixa across the galaxy. The likelihood we will be able to fight them with just one is slim. Still, it’s a better chance than we’ve ever had before.
Anyway, I’m getting tired and have to sleep now. Tomorrow is another day.
~ Allan Ali, Codename: Alvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 003 – First Released on Wednesday, July 1st, 2020
The Cycle of Yvan, 14th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Saturday, 24th of January 6099
Today, the unimaginable happened. Yvan, one of the five Yajixa Generals of Evelon II has been destroyed by Avala. I don’t even know where to begin. It all happened so fast. It started in the morning, when Avala presented a Yajiran child to the Commander. The child claimed to be something called an Echarikith. Sure, we’ve seen the Echarikith ruins all over the galaxy, they were a precursor civilization of sorts that vanished three million years ago. But they were supposed to be all dead.
According to the child, who calls herself Echniath (which is very much not a Yajiran name), the Echarikith were captured three million years ago by the first Yajixa of the first Yajirans and have been the source of the Yajixa’s power for three million years. I don’t understand it all, but something she did helped Avala destroy Yvan, and free an Athakri he had been possessing without killing him. This is a first! Even the means some of the other races of the galaxy have to destroy Yajixa kill the host!
Avala claims Echniath was trapped in her mindscape, which I don’t admit to understanding. Being that humans don’t have mindscapes for whatever reason, I have no way to confirm or deny that, and neither does Commander Sylvia.
I talked a bit with Echniath after Avala fell unconscious during the ‘mindscape battle’. According to her, the majority of races in the galaxy save for about a handful, came about due to being ‘castoff’ bodies of the Echarikith. It turns out an Echarikith is actually just a spirit that inhabits a body they create for themselves with their ‘magic’. When they leave a body it becomes a new person. The Echarikith also are apparently all connected in one unified consciousness, though each of the ‘drones’ possess their own individuality. It’s a fascinating story sure, but not one I fully believe yet. I still can’t explain what happened, but somehow Echniath used something like a magic spell, her voice turning into a distorted voice that sounded truly alien while speaking the words, and suddenly the mindscape battle was going on.
We were worried at first, but our Athakri allies who can see into other people’s mindscapes told us exactly what was going on. Avala was doing battle in the Mindworld as it was called. She’s still out though, even though the battle is over. Echniath claims time passes differently in the mindworld than in reality, so she’s likely to wake up within the next few days.
One thing that came from the mindscape battle is that we have a new Echarikith in the world. This time I was there to see her materialize out of thin air. She definitely wasn’t MELTing in, that has a distinct appearance of melting out of the floor, hence the backronym. And it definitely wasn’t the Yajixa move of theirs, that weird form of ‘teleportation’ - which I’ve seen and was not the same. This time, a ball of colorful light came out of the possessed Athakri man, and then turned into a human-looking girl, who calls herself Elizba.
Anyway, Avala’s still out, and Sylvia’s already getting excited about what we could do with this weapon. Yvan was in charge of the Athakarin kingdom of Ecrekio (named after its capital city), so Sylvia’s thinking that now would be a good time to strike against the capital itself, and take the entire kingdom for the Republic. Pulling this off though will take more than just Avala and these Echarikith. We’re going to need some serious firepower.
~ Allan Ali, Codename: Alvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 004 – First Released on Thursday, July 2nd, 2020
The Cycle of Zayil, 15th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Sunday, 25th of January 6099
Avala woke up today finally, and we explained everything that happened to her. She’s excited, but I guess just like me its all a bit hard to take in. Either way, I’m glad she's awake. I’ve grown protective of her. She was more like a daughter to me for many years than a wife, and in a way, she still is a daughter to me.
Now comes the part where we will be preparing for the strike on Ecrekio. It will take several months to get ready, and in that time we’ll have plenty of time to get used to everything that has just happened. I for one am looking forward to finally doing some damage against the Yajixa. It’s been far too long.
~ Allan Ali, Codename: Alvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 005 – First Released on Friday, July 3rd, 2020
The Cycle of Yasal, 16th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Monday, 26th of January 6099
Not much of interest happened today. We began laying out plans and getting resources together. Due to my connection with Avala, my importance in the EIS has just skyrocketed. I’m technically next in line for the position of Commander if Sylvia ever goes. Not that that will likely happen in the next few hundred years. She’s still only in her early fifties, not quite middle aged yet. She’s got at least until she’s a hundred and twenty before she can even retire. And that’s the earliest. Most likely she’ll be in that position until well over two hundred years old. Heck, the Supreme General, Lily Thomas is over two hundred and is still alive and kicking. She may look like a wrinkled prune in some ways, but she’s still fit to lead. She hasn’t quite hit the age of Alzheimer’s yet, that usually starts in the 250s but she’s getting close.
Anyway, because I’m so important now, the Prime Minister of the Republic wants me to be put in charge of the assault on Ecrekio. I tried to decline, but Prime Minister Stephan Harris is just too nice to refuse. I’m glad he’s in charge, and not Elexia, Sylvia’s now gone Sister, and previous Commander of the EIS. She was a nightmare.
Aside from all the planning today, I began looking into the deaths of my parents. They died while I was on Evelon II, and I didn’t even have a chance to attend their funeral. I only left Evelon II for one day during my whole time there, and that was only so I could be a witness to Elexia’s Court Marshalling. That was a strange day indeed.
Anyway, I visited their graves today, on the outskirts of Istanbul where my father grew up. It was a beautiful graveyard, specifically meant for Republic Military and Intelligence personnel, less than a kilometer away from the famous Anzac Cove memorial in Gallipoli dating back over four thousand years to the First World War. My sister’s grave had been moved there too, as she was the child of military personal and died still young. I never got to say goodbye to any of them, and I never will. May their souls rest free from the Yajixa.
~ Allan Ali, Codename: Alvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 006 – First Released on Saturday, July 4th, 2020
The Cycle of Yagra, 17th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Tuesday, 27th of January 6099
Today was full of planning, strategizing, and arguing. Nobody can agree on just how big an attack we’re going to need. Sure, our primary weapon is Avala and the Echarikith, but we don’t know what kind of force we will need to take the city.
Finally it was decided that we’ll start sending more agents to infiltrate Evelon II. This is now the Intelligence Service’s top priority. Taking back Evelon II. It was after all a human colony, and the people are being oppressed. It is the Republic of Earth’s duty and responsibility to do it, now that we can.
Before, any attempt to do something like that with a possessable race like the Athakarins, would almost always have to be called off, since we didn’t have the tools to end the Yajixa themselves. All we could do was kill their bodies. Sure, a single host death can be sanctioned under the right circumstance, but the Republic tries to avoid that at all costs.
Daigix, the priest that we killed, had likely been possessed since he was born, like most of the Priests on Evelon II were. Because of that it was deemed that we could kill him. We’ve seen what these bodies who have been possessed since they were born are like. They are mere husks, unable to literally do anything, usually even if we try to care for them they end simply dying for no apparent reason. The best we can assume is the Yajixa destroyed whatever made the person actually aware and well... a person, their consciousness so to speak.
The Republic of Earth has shed off its past hatred of others and now believes in Freedom and Equality for all. Everyone of every ethnicity is equal in our Republic, and there is no longer the infamous 'white privilege' of the early twenty first century. Men, woman, and intersex people are all treated fairly and equally, with no more 'men are better than women'. Gay, Straight, Lesbian, Bisexual, Pansexual, Omnisexual, Androphile, Gynephile, Asexual, Aromantic and every other of the many, many sexualities are all treated just as fairly and with acceptance.
There is not even an issue with the concept of Transgender or Nonbinary anymore, making it so that it isn’t even talked about anymore, because it just taken for granted. If someone feels they're another gender than what they were born as, it's considered normal and okay. Nobody questions it. Its reached a point where it happens all over the place and it's so normal that the words Transgender and Nonbinary have become as unused as heterosexual was in the renaissance. More often than not we just use the pronouns that the person has chosen for themselves. For instance, my aunt was born a man, but came to the conclusion at some point she was really a woman. Nobody questioned that, it was just as normal as a hypothetical man from the 19th century who decided he liked women; if people make any sort of fuss about it, they are seen as strange.
As for mental illnesses, we’ve come such a long way. Knowing that at least 90% of the human population has a mental illness and getting everyone to accept that took a long time, but now it's just normal. Most of what we once considered Mental Illnesses have taken on the name ‘mental differences’, such a Autism. All of these are completely fine to have and left how they are, with treatment plans in place to help manage the symptoms. As others, such as Alzheimer’s, PTSD, and a few others that are really nasty to live with, we have treatment methods that take time, but in the long run can almost all but cure them. In truth though they are still there, but they are managed to a point where they become unnoticeable under most conditions, only in certain circumstances do they start bothering the patient again.
And as for religion, after it was discovered for just how long the Yajixa had been infiltrating humanity (for a least since the early middle ages, if not long, long before) people began losing faith in many of the religions because of a thought that "maybe the Yajixa had fabricated those religions and we had really been worshiping them this whole time". A few hundred years after the End of World War III and the formation of the Republic, there were only a few million of each faith left, and they decided to self exile themselves from Earth. After some bizarre coincidence they all ended up settling on the same planet, and their faiths eventually merged and became something else. Now they are known as the Cult of Zari.
Anyway, tomorrow is another long day of planning and strategizing. I have to work with Sylvia to put agents in place across Evelon II. I’m the one with the most experience at HQ currently with Athakarin culture, so I’m needed to help make good codenames, and backstories for all of them.
~ Allan Ali, Codename: Alvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 007 – First Released on Sunday, July 5th, 2020
The Cycle of Ijar, 18th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Wednesday, 28th of January 6099
I’m starting to get sick of planning already. It's been less than a week, and I’m already wishing I was still living the simple life of a medicine man back in Childya Village. It was easy to do that sort of thing. Sure I had to use Athakarin remedies for everything, I couldn't use the Republic’s knowledge of medicine or I would be found out, but it was a simple life.
Each cycle made sense. It was more or less the same thing every cycle. I would wake up, around the fourth bell toll, which was late for most people, but my excuse was I was always up late mixing up new poultices and remedies. When I awoke, Avala was usually already up and had either made the first meal of the cycle already or was in the process of making it. Then we would eat together, however she waited until I took the first bite to eat, and would not finish her food until I finished mine.
After that I would spend the cycle helping treat the sick and wounded across the village. I was actually surprised at the overall effectiveness of Athakarin medicine, it works almost as well as 21st century medication. Avala would usually help me do many of the tasks. She insisted on helping me, and I couldn’t turn her down without her getting upset.
At the end of the cycle, Avala would go to sleep before me, and then once I gave her a sedative to ensure she stayed asleep, I contacted HQ and gave my daily report. Usually I was just talking to the EIS Adjutant, the fully sapient hired AI who aided all operations of the service, but occasionally someone of flesh and blood was there to give me new orders.
As for Avala, when she wasn’t helping me, she was cleaning our small hut, making another meal, purchasing food from the butcher's or villager trader, or cleaning our clothes. She did this all on her own, and refused to let me do any of it.
She had been trained by her parents to behave the way she did. Most of it was a respect towards men mentality, I could see she hated it. However, whenever I told her she didn’t have to do that, she got upset and would begin to cry. I honestly couldn’t understand why she did that. It very much wasn’t a happy crying, but a sad and scared crying. The best I can tell was that by me saying she didn’t have to do that, she was assuming that meant I didn’t want her as a wife. Even though she hated being my wife, the thought of being a single woman terrified her. She would most likely be dead within a week, or married to someone worse than me. I tried to explain to her that I wasn’t getting rid of her ever, but she still didn’t listen, so ingrained in her mind was the idea that her only purpose in life was to serve men.
Fortunately, in the last few days since she was taken from that world, she has dropped many of those behaviors. She’s smart enough and old enough to understand that in the Republic, she doesn’t have to serve men. Part of that might have been the first Republic woman she ever met being Sylvia, the person in command of the Entire EIS. That could have been a real wake up call to her that challenged her whole way of looking at herself. Either way, I’m glad she didn’t insist on continuing to serve me, that would have been horrible.
I’ve scheduled a meetup at the main food court here with her on the coming weekend. I want to see how she’s adjusting to all this. However, the weekend is still a few days away. Until then, I’m going to be bogged down with work. What I wouldn’t give to just still be living on Evelon II, everything was simpler there.
~ Allan Ali, Codename: Alvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 008 – First Released on Monday, July 6th, 2020
The Cycle of Yvan, 19th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Thursday, 29th of January 6099
Today I saw Avala again. She was still wearing her normal Evelon II clothing. I don’t think she likes the feel of human clothing. Also, she hasn’t seem to have bathed yet. I’m actually not sure she has ever bathed in her life. Bathing was a luxury for the cultural elite on Evelon II, or for those who lived near water that wasn’t frozen.
We lived very close to the night side of the tidally-locked planet, near what they called the frozen wastes. The only water nearby that wasn’t frozen were the steam pools in one of the many nearby caves, and that place was more often or not a place where men took their wives for sex in full view of other men. It wasn’t a place either me or Avala ever wanted to go.
However, we did go there once, but only to convince other men that we were having sex. In reality, I used a holographic projector given to me by the Republic to project the image that we were doing it, and then hid the real us away under a holographic rock. The reason we did that was Avala was worried people would realize I wasn’t having sex with her, because she hadn’t gotten pregnant yet, and we had never been seen together doing anything sexual. In the Athakarin world, that was a great sin, to be married to a woman but not having sex with her, and Avala knew it. She knew if people found out, both of us would be sacrificed to the spirits.
This way of thinking was so ingrained into her, that she was trying to beg me to do it with her. I refused, since sex while under duress is not consensual, and that’s on top of the fact that she was only twelve at the time, and under the Republic Age of Consent.
However even after doing that, Avala had been kidnapped by a jealous man who wanted her for his own. Fortunately, the man died before she could take off any of her clothes, I had killed him. Yet, even though the whole village knew I murdered him, I got away with it. In Athakarin law, what I did was I got my own justice; I killed the man who ‘stole my wife’. There was nothing wrong with that in their eyes.
I shake my head at the barbarism of that world and what it did to poor young Avala. I’ve already asked the Adjutant to keep an eye on her in case any trauma from her youth turns into something far worse, such as PTSD.
Sometimes I wish I was living back of Evelon II still. But other times, I am glad I now live in a proper civilized place again, and that our marriage was annulled. I don’t even want to think what would have happened if I had lived there until Avala turned eighteen. At that point, I would have had very little excuse to do it with Avala, other than some argument that it was still non-consensual, but it wouldn’t have mattered to her and we would have been forced to do it. That would have destroyed me.
~ Allan Ali, Codename: Alvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 009 – First Released on Tuesday, July 7th, 2020
The Cycle of Zayil, 20th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Friday, 30th of January 6099
More planning and strategizing today. Next week we’re going to actually be getting into preparing our new Planetary Command, in that Athakri hideout we took refuge in last week. That will be interesting, finding a way to expand the cave network without the Yajixa noticing. I’m looking forward to doing something other than planning.
Tomorrow is also the start of the weekend, and I will be having dinner with Avala. Though I saw her yesterday, I didn’t get a chance to talk to her all that much. Well, I’ll get the chance tomorrow. I am worried though she will still be awkward around me. Even back on Evelon II, she never really spoke much. She was quiet and shy, and never seemed happy. I believe it must have come from some sort of ‘women should be seen and not heard’ mentality ingrained into her. Yet another reason Evelon II is so backwards.
Anyway, it’s been a long day, and I need to sleep. I’m still not yet used to sleeping in a bed again. Only the wealthiest Athakarins slept in beds or sat in chairs. Most of them just slept and sat on large bulking piles of pillows of all shapes and sizes, the more pillows someone had the wealthier they probably were until they could afford an actual bed and chairs.
Hopefully I sleep better than the last few nights tonight. I want to be rested for tomorrow.
~ Allan Ali, Codename: Alvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 010 – First Released on Wednesday, July 8th, 2020
The Cycle of Yasal, 21st cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Saturday, 31st of January 6099
Today was a good day. I spent most of the day relaxing, and walking around the complex here on Hydra III. Then when dinner time came, I met with Avala. This time she was dressed in something slightly more fancy, but still Athakarin, and she had partially bathed. I suspect the Adjutant helped with that.
The conversation started out slow, but once it started, she really got into it, asking all sorts of questions about the Republic and about the rest of the galaxy. I’ve never in my life seen her so curious. She definitely seemed to be warming up to the idea of no longer being more or less property. A lot of her questions revolved around the importance of women in Republic Society. She was fascinated to learn just how much humanity respected their women, and a few times she was even crying in joy.
I’m actually finally starting to get to know her. She never opened up to me back on Evelon II, but now, I’m seeing just what type of person she is. She’s so full of hope now, so much so that I think it must be an infectious disease that I’m now catching. In the past she was so dismal and depressed, now she feels that anything is possible. She feels that she can do anything she puts her mind to, and she has put her mind to freeing her people.
I would have thought Avala hated men after growing up on Evelon II, instead though she’s only afraid of them. She wouldn’t even look to, let alone speak to, the male waiter that served us, so we had to request one of their female waiters instead. I’m actually glad she’s willing to talk to me at the very least. It means she trust me. I was always under the impression she hated me. I guess that even though she hated me, she trusted me to protect her. After all, look at how many times I stuck my neck out to help her when she was younger.
Anyway, today was also her first lesson on Republic Credits, the main currency of the Republic of Earth. On Evelon II, it was a bartering system. Wealth was measured not in money, but in amount and quality of goods one had stored up. I myself had a large amount of wealth, enough to make me the third wealthiest man in Childya, but most of that had been replicated. Our replicators are so good, we can replicate down to the molecular level almost perfectly. However replicating that wealth cost the EIS a good amount of credits, since each credit represents a set amount of energy, and replication costs loads of energy.
Fortunately, the day after I got back, I was officially paid for my entire eight years of service on Evelon II. That’s a hefty amount of credits. Fortunately, I had a KST surgery to learn how to manage money and not go into debt, alongside a whole lot of other information to make me as educated as the rest of the Republic populace.
With this amount of money, I could easily quit this job that was forced upon me, and find a new simpler life somewhere else. However, I’m not about to abandon Avala to pursue her quest all by herself. Also, both my parents were part of the EIS, I’m not about to spit on their grave an leave the service they so lovingly cherished. Before I was living in Childya Village, I was living here, in the Hydra III Intelligence City, the city supporting the EIS HQ. I'm not about to leave now.
Avala will be paid her own weekly salary as long as she works with us (even though she’s only fourteen, Sylvia’s found a loophole in the laws that will allow her to work and be an agent as well as get paid), and already has been paid her week’s worth of credits. I encouraged her to pay for her meal with them, however I already let the Adjutant know that if Avala ever doesn’t have enough money for a everyday purchase to instead pull from my account. I’m not going to tell her I did this for her, she’d take it the wrong way. Instead I’m just going to let it happen from now on, or at least until she’s making enough to fully fend for herself.
Anyway, tomorrow is Sunday, the last day of the Weekend. I’m thinking I’m going to spend it in the HVRP (Holographic Virtual Reality Platform). I’m thinking of trying to set up a new program to simulate a traditional Athakarin lifestyle. I’ve already booked a HVRP Lounge room in Intelligence City. It will be nice to be back in that life for a day. Maybe I’ll go on a hunt.
~ Allan Ali, Codename: Alvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 011 – First Released on Thursday, July 9th, 2020
The Cycle of Yagra, 22nd cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Sunday, 1st of February 6099
Today was a good day. I spent it in the HVRP just as planned and lived the Athakarin life for a day without all the nasty bits such as the discrimination of women. For the first half of the day, I practiced my medicine man skills, and then the second half of the day I went on a hunt. It was good to feel the Ijix Bow in my hand, and the Kyati Sword at my side.
I paid extra to have a cellular replicator installed into the HVRP that allowed the meat that was hunted for to be real and not just holographic. After all this, I’ve officially decided I’m going to be living the Athakarin way from now on. I’ve reprogrammed my quarters to be an Athakarin hut, and replaced my bed with a pile of pillows and a hearth. I also have a small kitchen where I am cooking traditional Athakarin meals.
Sure, I’m human genetically and physically. But in my heart, I’ve decided I’m Athakarin. Alvaj is far more who I am than Allan Ali. Avala made me realize that when she called me Alvaj instead of Allan. It made me realize that my entire teenage years were spent with me as an Athakarin. I became an adult not as a human but as an Athakarin. Now, I’m realizing the life of a human is not for me.
I enjoy the taste of real Athakarin food compared to the replicated stuff which tastes fake. I prefer the feeling of a large pile of pillows under me while I sleep with furs overtop of me to keep me warm. I prefer the rugged and untidy clothing of the Athakarins of Childya Valley compared to the form fitting white uniforms that the EIS makes me wear. In truth, I am not only human, I’m Athakarin. I identify as an Athakarin now. I’ve already told the Adjutant to log the name Alvaj as no longer a code name, but a secondary given name for me. Alvaj son of Scyvaj. Tomorrow though I am returning to work, though I refuse to wear those horrendous uniforms any longer. I hate them!
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 012 – First Released on Friday, July 10th, 2020
The Cycle of Ijar, 23rd cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Monday, 2nd of February 6099
Back to work today. A few people questioned my choice of attire, thinking I was going back into the field. However, I explained to them what’s going on. Apparently it's not uncommon for this to happen to agents who have been undercover in a role for many years, that identity becomes a part of them, and some will even wear their disguise around at all times.
I just found out a Rathvhaara woman I recently met was actually a human who wore a holographic disguise at all times because of her perceived identity of being that specific Rathvhaara. She was in the role for thirty years before being called back, so I don’t blame her. She passed as a Rathvhaara so well that even her mannerisms didn’t seem human anymore.
This has helped me feel not so ashamed by my feelings and my identity. Apparently, the official term for it is Post Undercover Persistent Secret Identity Syndrome (PUPSIS). And the Adjutant diagnosed me with it. It's one of those mental differences that I’ve mentioned before, not usually worried about unless it began causing serious problems, like if I ended up taking justice into my own hands like the Athakarins do, or if I tried to sacrifice someone to the spirits. Both of which I don’t think I’ll do, though you’ll never know.
Anyway, today we actually started work on upgrading Hideout: Avli to be more appropriate for a proper planetary command base. We will need that if we are to properly assault Ecrekio. That way we can funnel troops and resources onto the planet, without accidentally getting caught in a Yajiran MELT trap. Those are no fun at all.
I put my back into the work, and Avala helped to. She wasn’t in the slightest bit surprised that I was wearing Athakarin clothing. In fact, it seemed to make her more at ease. Either way, me and Avala were probably the hardest working people there. Athakarins after all have really good work ethic, its unusual for an Athakarin to take breaks unless its to eat, use the chamber pot, or sleep.
Anyway, it will still take several more months before its all up to standards. We have to go slow, and silent to avoid detection. If we work to fast, the Yajixa would be able to hear or feel our digging, and with their strange way of seemingly able to teleport - spirit form I think they call it - they would be here in a moment.
I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep tonight. It will be good to sleep after a hard day’s work.
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 013 – First Released on Saturday, July 11th, 2020
The Cycle of Yvan, 24th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Tuesday, 3rd of February 6099
Another day of hard work, another day of feeling satisfied. Commander Sylvia wants me back to planning tomorrow though, she’s figured out some new details from the first reports of our new agents in the field, and needs my brain to understand them. I’m beginning to think she just likes my company. Either way, I’m not looking forward to it.
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 014 – First Released on Sunday, July 12th, 2020
The Cycle of Zayil, 25th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Wednesday, 4th of February 6099
Today was tedious and caused my brain to hurt. So many reports to sort through. I’m pretty certain Sylvia is grooming me to become the Commander of Intelligence. Did I really impress her so much? I know I’m next in line for command, but does she have to put so much pressure on me?
Anyway, I think I finally figured out how to make a proper Milic Bread, with that in place I can now work on figuring out how to make some Torok Meat Pie. Avala has been giving me pointers a few times, I did ask for her advice while we worked on the Evelon II Planetary Command after all. She’s simply confused as to why I don’t just replicate it. Maybe it's just me, but the stuff from the Replicator tastes fake. I told her that, but she claims she didn’t notice that.
I am however glad that she’s no longer living in the past, and is adapting to the new life of the Republic of Earth. She at least wants no part of living the Athakarin lifestyle. Sure, she’s apparently still eating Athakarin foods, but she’s having them all replicated. Should I be worried that I’m the one that’s living in the past?
Either way, I need to sleep. It’s been a frustrating day.
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 015 – First Released on Monday, July 13th, 2020
The Cycle of Yasal, 26th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Thursday, 5th of February 6099
Today I spent the morning working with Sylvia on reports, and the afternoon working on the Planetary Command. The hard, physical labor helped me feel better after the morning of grueling paperwork. I am not looking forward to becoming the Commander of the Intelligence Service. In fact, if Sylvia is looking close to retirement, I’m probably going to quit my job, just so I can’t be promoted to Commander. At this point, I don’t care what my dead parents would think, I am not going to spend my life doing paperwork and desk jobs. I want to be doing something meaningful with my life.
While working on the Planetary Command, it's nice to see Avala there. Even though we’re not married anymore, I still feel protective of her. I spent six years of my life after all trying my best to protect her. It's part of my identity. Unfortunately, in the past year she’s been growing more into a beautiful young woman and less of the little girl I once knew.
I spent six years refusing to see her as attractive, no matter what Commander Elexia tried to get me to do with her. And now, I feel ashamed that I think she’s becoming attractive. I know I shouldn’t. Isn’t it every person’s dream to be attractive? Nobody wants to be ugly. I’m also realizing that Athakarins are more attractive to me than regular humans now. It’s a strange thing indeed.
Anyway, Avala is doing well, which is good. She’s happy, healthy, and really starting to fit into the whole Republic Way of life. Me? I’m still struggling with that last part. I am a bit concerned by that. But no matter, this is who I am.
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 016 – First Released on Tuesday, July 14th, 2020
The Cycle of Yagra, 27th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Friday, 6th of February 6099
I just want to write this here for the record. I. Hate. Reports. I hate sorting through them. I hate reading them. It would be one thing if each report were written in casual English, but no, whoever is doing the ‘transcripts’ from the vocal reports is using a verbose English as possible. I blame the Adjutant. Those AI are great with everything, including vocabulary.
I talked to Sylvia about possibly tuning down the big vocabulary in the reports, but she claims that I’m going to learns this vocabulary by the next year, claiming its Agent slang. Why does agent slang have to be so freaking big words! Such a ‘unungulated’? What does an Ungulate have to do with anything? Isn’t an Ungulate just a hooved animal? Apparently Unungulated means an assassination target is still alive! Who comes up with these things? I know for one I didn’t use these things in the field!
Other examples of apparent Agent Slang:
Vocabulatoring = Some sort of translator malfunction
Motordukenator = Vehicle malfunctions.
Antidisassembly Line = Building a trap.
Wompingwomper = Person in charge
Ticking Chicken = A bomb
Brocolinilatoring = Haven’t eaten anything for over a day.
Chocolatering = Hiding the evidence
Kickinglator = An assassination
Uninsinuationated = Has not been caught
Balcony Beamer = Hiding on the Roof
Earthquake Beamer = Hiding in a Cave
Bacon Beamer = Hiding in a farm
Zombinationator = Target has been replaced
Tookertockerlickerlocker = A troublesome native
Soybean-Salad = I hate my job
The Lion = Main target
The Hunter = Main agent on a multi agent mission
Jomjobulator = Having trouble understanding things
So, do you know what? Jomjobulator and Soybean-Salad! I feel like I’m have a Vocabulatoring! I wish I had a Ticking Chicken so I could make an Antidisassembly Line to Kickinglator the Tookertockerlickerlocker of a Wompingwomper named Sylvia! After that I’d have to work on Chocolatering then probably go be a Bacon Beamer for the rest of my life! Soybean-Salad indeed…
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 017 – First Released on Wednesday, July 15th, 2020
The Cycle of Ijar, 28th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Saturday, 7th of February 6099
It's finally the weekend, and I’m free of work for two days. So what do I do today. I went for a actual hunt on Evelon II, with Avala joining me. She’s not used to weekends. The Athakarins never took breaks for entire days like that. They didn’t even celebrate holidays or birthdays like that. Sure they celebrated them, but they would still work on those days. I’m thankful that the ancient Jews had the idea of the Sabbath, that’s where Weekends Originated from what I’m told.
Anyway, the hunt was successful, and I have new meats and bones to cook with back home, as well as new furs to make products from to potentially sell. Products made from animal parts are legal in the Republic only if they are hunted or farmed sustainably and ethically. The animals must not be made to suffer in the slightest. That’s why I used a special poison that as soon as it hits a nerve, shuts down the nervous system killing them instantly.
The Athakarins have all sorts of advanced poisons, just like the Yajirans do, however the Athakarin poisons are all natural. This is because the plant life of Evelon II is amazing. Sure, the colder areas around Childya are pretty sparse of vegetation, but go only a hundred Kilometers towards the hot part of the planet, and things start to liven up for at least a few hundred kilometers before it starts getting too hot for plants.
The circumference of Evelon II is about 60% that of Earth’s, yet it has near identical gravity, hence it is denser overall. It’s tidally locked, meaning one side always faces the sun. Because of this, only a 3200 km band along the eternal sunset is more or less habitable, with it being the most habitable right in the center of this band. This also means most of the planet doesn’t have day or night, so the Athakarins instead use the concept of a ‘cycle’ being near exactly 24 hours long. However they divide a cycle into 12 ‘bell tolls’ the name taken from the way they tell time, with the village or city ringing massive bells that many times.
Yet there is an anomaly in the tidally locked aspect in that the planet’s axis is actually tilted, which is extremely rare for tidally locked worlds. Because of this tilt the planet’s pole have extreme season, one half of the year being extremely hot and sunny literally all the time, and the other half of the year being extremely cold and with literally no sun for the rest of the year. Essentially the poles are the only place with an actual day night cycle that takes an entire year to complete. Fortunately the poles are tilted in such a way that the center region of that area about eight hundred kilometers wide is more or less still extremely habitable year round, yet the areas on either side of that towards the Frozen Wastes or Eternal Fires are still somehow lived in.
The population of Evelon II is rather small around a hundred thousand people at max, with sometimes hundreds or even thousands of kilometers between settlements. However they have perfected the science of long distance travel with using beasts of burden and carts. Their roads are made out of materials that don’t break, metal plates.
Their fastest beast of burden the Syran Beast – which is a genetically modified version of a horse brought to the planet by humanity 2000 years ago – can travel sixty kilometers per hour for up to twelve hours non-stop, and only need to rest for about two hours before doing another twelve hour stint. That means that in a full cycle, which is about 24 hours long, the beast can travel 1320 kilometers which is just under half of the habitable area’s width. These beasts can be ridden or used in groups to pull carriages or sleighs.
Their strongest beast of burden, the Wrakta Beast is as strong as ten horses all pulling together (which by the way is more than the sum of its parts). They are a bit slow, but can pull non-stop for up to 10 cycles without end, going three times the distance as a Syran beast can in one cycle in that time. After that they only need one cycle of rest before continuing on. These beasts have in the past been used in groups of up to twenty to pull moving wheeled barracks across the land in time of war, and in times of peace have been used to travel long distances in quite roomy wagons without rest, with only people taking turns steering it.
These two creatures make travel relatively painless. And because the Yajixa will actively slaughter bandits, and since both Syran Beasts and Wrakta beasts are not prey animals, the roads are actually very safe. I haven’t traveled by either, but I’ve spoken with people who have.
I’ve even seen the inside of one of their two Wrakta drawn wagons. Its only about the quarter of the size of my hut used to be, but has a small kitchen, a storage loft, an ice box for storing food, a small lightable hearth, and areas to sleep. Some people actually live in those things like motor homes!
Well, that was a long entry. Tomorrow I’m going on another hunt, I need my rest before then.
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 018 – First Released on Thursday, July 16th, 2020
The Cycle of Yvan, 29th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Sunday, 8th of February 6099
It was so nice to hunt again. But now I have to dread going back to work tomorrow. I’ve thought about quitting my job many times over this weekend, but I know better. The Republic needs me, no matter what I might feel about it. Also, what would I do for a living? Living the Athakarin lifestyle is not well paying, and there is no way I can go back to my life in Childya. In fact, the Yajixa no doubt know my face by now. If they saw me on Evelon II, they’d kill me. I was partially responsible for the death of Yvan. I couldn’t even defect at this point, not that the Republic would ever allow that. I’d be court marshalled before I ever got a chance to do that.
I have thought about possibly getting facial reconstruction to permanently become looking like an Athakarin, and having my face changed so I can go back to Childya. But I’d have to start over from scratch, a recent report says my home was raided and all my wealth taken. And Childya Village has banned any new people moving in anyway. I could always live in another remote village, but still, without any wealth to start off with, I’d be living on the streets and die within a year. And if I was ever caught by the Yajixa, they wouldn’t except that I was no longer with the Republic, they’d kill me for simply not being a real Athakarin.
The more I think these thoughts, the more I realize my PUPSIS is getting to me in a bad way. That’s why I took tomorrow of to go see a councillor. I need help if I’m going to continue having a happy and productive life.
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 019 – First Released on Friday, July 17th, 2020
The Cycle of Zayil, 30th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Monday, 9th of February 6099
Saw a councillor today, it went well. Turns out I’m suffering depression because of my PUPSIS. With a light KST operation and a prescription of auto-injection antidepressants given to the Adjutant, I should start seeing improvements in three days time. Until then, I’m to avoid anything that worsens the depression, and that means I have doctor’s orders not to go to work until Friday. Which means more hunting trips.
The prescription allows the Adjutant authorization to auto inject me with the Antidepressants on a schedule laid out by the councillor. This is how medication is done these days, since Adjutants are everywhere, and even regular civilians have in-home adjutants and adjutant devices such as adjutant pads, and adjutant wristbands. In home adjutants and devices were the peak evolution of smart homes and smart devices, and can literally do anything you need them to. And since almost every adjutant device has a miniature replicator unit in them, they can replicate an injection right into me as long as I have it with me, which I’m ordered to do, there is no fuss about it, and I won’t even notice half the time.
Tomorrow I’ve decided to go on another hunt. Then the two days after that I’m going to work on processing all the animal goods I have gotten from them. That is going to be fun. It's too bad that Athakarin medicine doesn’t have anything useful for depression. I would have preferred using that if there was.
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 020 – First Released on Saturday, July 18th, 2020
The Cycle of Yasal, 31st cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Tuesday, 10th of February 6099
Another day, another hunt. I found a giant Korodar beast today which was at least ten meters long from head to rear, and would tower over me if I had been any closer to it. I’ve never seen one so huge. I didn’t even know it existed. Instead of killing it, I simply told the Adjutant to record in at put a tracker on it, I’m certain nature enthusiasts in the Republic would love keeping an eye on this. The adjutant also aided me in injecting it with a micro shield generator. This shield generator will protect the beast from the weapons of the primitive Athakarins, but not modern weapons. That should keep it safe. The Adjutant then forwarded the information to the Republic of Earth Department of Wildlife Sciences.
I know most Athakarins would have tried to kill such a beast. But, I know my limits. That beast would have killed me if I tired. They normally flee when attacked, but most are only a tenth of its size. It probably wouldn’t have been afraid of me in the slightest.
When I got back, I found I earned a monetary reward from the Republic of Earth Department of Wildlife Sciences for finding and protecting such a impressive specimen. The reward was actually quite substantial, nearly three million credits, which is about what I earn in three weeks. I don’t know what I’ll spend it on, but it's nice to be recognized for doing something like that.
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 021 – First Released on Sunday, July 19th, 2020
The Cycle of Yagra, 32nd cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Wednesday, 11th of February 6099
Today I worked on processing the hunted good into usable materials, and I got Avala’s help teaching me to make Camline Stew. She’s still kind of confused as to why I’m doing this. I haven’t the guts to explain to her what’s going on in my head. Suffice to say, I’m just telling her that I’m still getting used to being back. She bought the tale.
Camline Stew, is a stew traditionally made from all leftover meals or ingredient of a week being put into a pot and boiled in water for several hours. This includes any bread, meats, flour, grains, and literally everything else used in cooking from that week, all put into the pot. And since the Athakarin week is only five days long, that means it happens like this every five days.
The end result is a mushy but flavorful stew that can delight the senses but make your eyes want to vomit. It doesn’t usually look tasty. Its just a brown or grey mess of mushiness. But the texture is wonderful and the flavor is too.
Avala taught me a basic Camline stew, where I stick them all in the pot at the same time. However she has in her time on Evelon II, figured out how to cook things separately only a few at a time before putting them together in order to make a truly wonderful Camline stew. Mine was mediocre. I’m pretty certain that even the Replicator’s Camline stew would taste better than mine. I’m going to have to get some practice.
Either way, I now have a whole pot of the stuff for the next few days, and I have to eat it all. Next time, I might make a smaller batch so that if it tastes terrible it won’t last as long.
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 022 – First Released on Monday, July 20th, 2020
The Cycle of Ijar, 33rd cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Thursday, 12th of February 6099
Today the furs have been taken out of the pickling solution, been wringed out, the rest of the excess flesh peeled off, then they were neutralized in an alkaline solution. After they sat for an hour, I then applied a tanning solution and left them to dry close, but not too close to the fire. They should be ready for being stretched and broken tomorrow. Once that is done I’ll have some real fur blankets to use and not these horrible replicated ones that itch and scratch.
Tomorrow I have to go back to work. I’m feeling a lot better about this.
~ Allan Ali / Alvaj son of Scyvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
Entry 023 – First Released on Tuesday, July 21st, 2020
The Cycle of Yvan, 34th cycle of the Month of the Great Sea, 1932 years after Creation / Friday, 13th of February 6099
I went back to work today, and everything went smoother. I was able to be productive and work through a lot of the problems I was facing. Also, I seem to be getting over my desire to remain an Athakarin. The Adjutant believes now that I was misdiagnosed with PUPSIS, and that it was instead an aversion to my job due to a sudden change in every part of my life that was causing it. Sure, I had fun playing Athakarin one last time, but I’m ready to return to the Republic.
I sent the furs I gathered to the Cultural Center for Athakarin Traditions, for a tidy profit and then cleaned up my quarters to be back to Republic standards. Avala’s glad to see I’m settling in again, and so is the Commander. I’ll most likely be on those Antidepressants for a month’s time. After that, the Counsellor believes I should be back into the swing of things. Should I need them for longer, I will have to get a proper psychiatrist’s opinion. Fortunately, psychiatric Adjutant’s are the only real psychiatrist we have any more. That’s for a similar reason that all pre-postsecondary teachers are now adjutants. It gives everyone a fair treatment, without prejudice, favorites, or malpractice, and allows everyone to have their needs met at the exact same time. And since Adjutants can do over a billion tasks at once, their no need to wait for appointments, or for students in schools to have to wait their turn for help.
Ah, I love the Republic of Earth. It's great to be home.
~ Allan Ali, Codename: Alvaj – Rank A Agent of the EIS
This is a free work based on my book: Avala: Spirits of the Mindscapes - Book 1: Hope. If you enjoyed it feel free to check out the teaser chapter for the book here:
You can purchase it from amazon here:
If you want to check out my official 5/5 star review you can see that here:
If you want to purchase the book from another retailer, check out my list here:
Also feel free to comment below, and if you have any suggestions for other characters for me to do a diary series for, feel free to mention them there as well.
Hope you enjoy, and stay safe amid COVID-19!
Caleb Teal
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Any references to real people, places, or events of the modern time are used in a fictional sense and have no bearing or reality, nor are they meant to detract from the real them in any way. And all characters are the complete creation of the author, any resemblance to real world people is complete coincidence.
© 2020 Evelon II Studios, All Rights Reserved
Comments