Flying in the face of God

Flying in the face of God

A Sanguine Universe origin story of breathtaking tragedy

By James Golden

Wednesday, April 10th, 1912

Cherbourg, France

6:30 PM

The SS Nomadic splashed steadily towards the black and white giant on the horizon, the godly vessel heralded as 'Unsinkable', the RMS Titanic. Richmond Hades, a thin but capable inventor in his early thirties, wrapped his arms around the love of his life, the fair, and fiery Amelia Farrell, and sighed. In moments, the smaller ship serving as tender for the Titanic would pull up beside the larger vessel, and the process for boarding would begin.

"Isn't it exciting, my love?" Richmond said. He squeezed Amelia and kissed her strawberry-blonde hair. "A new life, a new land, and the grandest vessel of all time ready to ferry us to destiny!"

Amelia laughed, a sound that never ceased to delight Richmond, and spun in his arms. Her hazel-brown eyes sparkled in the orange light of the setting sun.

"A new life, together," Amelia clarified, smiling wide. "Away from the vile clutches of my father. Can't you just imagine it? You'll be a professor in New York or a scientist, and I'll work from home as a writer."

Richmond laughed.

"I'm going to work for a dark, dangerous company that will exploit my inventions for world domination," Richmond joked. Amelia nudged him in the ribs.

"Oh, stop it. You'll ruin the dream."

The Nomadic nudged into position, and the captain announced that boarding for the Titanic would begin in minutes. A thrill of excitement shot through those gathered on the smaller vessel, followed by pleasant chatter on the nature of the unsinkable titan and her first-class features.

Some spoke on the ingenuity of the Titanic's sealable, water-tight compartments, while others conversed excitedly about the spacious lounges and indoor swimming pool.

One man, in particular, stood out to Richmond. A tall, brooding individual with short blonde hair, dark black sunglasses, an expensive heavy leather coat, and a dour expression; he didn't seem particularly thrilled about any facet of the journey. He stood alone, apart from the crowd. Richmond assumed the glasses were to hide the man's reddish-purple eyes, a common trait in actors and an ill-desired side effect of prolonged exposure to the Klieg lamps used on studio sets.

Richmond leaned in to mention the man's eyes to Amelia, but she was engrossed in a conversation nearby. A couple, gathering their luggage while ushering on their young daughter, were engaged in a polite but heated discussion.

"No, it is not alright," the wife said, flustered. "It is an affront. No one should say such things!"

"Nonsense," the man said as he handed off the family luggage to the Titanic crew, consisting of three large trunks and a case. "She's a beauty! Just look at her! They call her unsinkable because she is!"

The stately woman scoffed and shook her head, red in the face.

"Walter! No. To say such a thing, to call a ship 'unsinkable' is...it is flying in the face of God."

Amelia gasped. Her body tensed, and the blood drained from her face. She turned to Richmond, her eyes full of worry, but his were warm, calm, and reassuring.

"Did you hear what she said?" Amelia asked.

Richmond nodded and gave her a squeeze. Such notions of God's and superstitions had rarely interested or frightened Richmond, and he wasn't about to let them start now. He bent down, lifted his case and Amelia's trunk, and handed them to the boarding crew as they arrived.

"I am a man of science, my love," Richmond said with a warm smile. "Everything I do flies in the face of God."

The joke served its purpose, bringing levity back to Amelia, and she smacked him on the arm playfully. They held one another as the third-class passengers boarded. It was a cold evening, and Richmond used his jacket to keep Amelia warm.

When it was the second-class passengers' turn to board the colossal White Star vessel, Amelia and Richmond stepped aboard with about thirty others, but there was no sign of the man with the reddish-purple eyes and blonde hair. He was not with the first-class passengers that Richmond could tell, and he hadn't boarded with steerage. It was as though he had simply vanished into thin air.

At around Eight-PM, the Titanic weighed anchor and set sail for Queenstown to collect the last of its passengers. Amelia and Richmond danced under the stars to the tune of a live band and then retired to their stately cabin in one another's arms, drunk and madly in love.

As advertised, the Titanic was a masterpiece of class and luxury. Amelia and Richmond spent the next day exploring the massive vessel, from her libraries and gymnasiums to her smoking rooms and Rennaissance-style lounges. Entering any room immediately gave the sense that you were exiting a ship and entering a grand manor, a wondrous sensation Richmond never quite tired of.

They danced wherever there was music and drank until they were dizzy, and just before dinner, on the second night of their voyage, Richmond dropped to his knee and produced a small, unassuming black box. In it was a single, gorgeous ring. The band was platinum, and the diamond sparkled brighter than Amelia's eyes.

"Richmond? How did you? That ring?" Amelia asked, tears welling in her eyes.

"My new boss, Ms. Sanguine, gave me an advance. But never mind that," Richmond said, smiling wide. He took Amelia's hands in his. She rubbed his calloused palms. "Amelia, our time together has been short, but unequivocally, the greatest of my life. I love the way you bring me tea when I've been up too late in the lab, the stories you tell me to distract me from my work. I love the way we dance, the sound of your laughter, and the sparkle in your eyes. I want to keep loving all of these things and all of you for the rest of my life."

"But my father," Amelia started.

"Forget him," Richmond said. Some three-hundred or so well-to-do individuals watched them, but Richmond had eyes only for Amelia. "Forget the pain he's caused us. We'll return to him with success on our shoulders and he'll be forced to acknowledge us, to acknowledge you."

"Rich," Amelia said.

Tears glittered in her hazel eyes as Richmond looked up at her,

"Amelia Farrell, will you marry me?"

A hush fell over the dining hall. Several women gasped.

"Yes! A thousand times, yes!" Amelia said and threw herself on Richmond who swooped her up and spun her in his arms.

The dining hall exploded into cheer. Amelia and Richmond found themselves the center of attention as several couples introduced themselves and bought the newly betrothed a bottle in celebration. By the time dinner was over, they had more to drink than they could manage.

Later that evening, as the newly engaged Richmond and Amelia came down the stairs to their cabin room below deck, they found a tall, brooding man with short blonde hair and a long black coat waiting for them. Familiar to Richmond, the man wore dark sunglasses over his eyes even at night, and did not smile as they approached.

"I don't remember seeing that man board," Richmond whispered. A chill swept his spine as he took in the man's dark appearance.

"Perhaps he boarded at Queenstown?" Amelia suggested.

Richmond did not want to frighten his partner and kept the man's vanishing act to himself. After all, it was still entirely possible Richmond had simply lost track of him in the crowd.

The blonde man was lean and athletic and pushed from the wall smoothly. He extended a black-gloved hand, and Richmond shook it.

"Dr. Nikolai Hauser," the man said as they shook, gesturing to himself. "You are Professor Hades, from the University of Oxford, are you not?" Dr. Hauser took Amelia's hand gently and inclined his head. There were traces of German in his accent. "And you must be Amelia Farell. New's has spread throughout the vessel of your recent engagement. Congratulations. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.

Amelia and Richmond shared a glance and smiled nervously at one another. Nikolai Hauser did not. He stood tall and expectant, exuding an aura of power and control.

"Former professor at the University of Oxford," Richmond clarified with a sheepish grin. "It would seem my latest ventures tend to push the boundaries of accepted science, and were not received well by the Chancellor."

To this, Dr. Hauser scoffed.

"We shall not truly be free until all men accept that science has no boundaries," Nikolai Hauser whispered fiercely. "We have scraped the well of possibility to find it endless. The void frightens the average man. Do not let it frighten you, Professor Hades."

He reached for Richmond's hand one more time and Richmond offered it if only to put an end to the strange conversation. Nikolai's grip was surprisingly strong, and he pulled Richmond close. Dr. Hauser smelled of clean soap and fresh clothes, but beneath that, there was something else, something familiar and earthen, but Richmond couldn't place it.

"Take care of yourself," Dr. Hauser said and brushed past with another slight nod to Amelia. "We have so much to accomplish."

And with that, he was gone, up the stairs and out onto the open deck of the enormous passenger liner, leaving Amelia and Richmond flustered and confused.

"What was that about? Did you know that man?" Amelia asked.

"No," Richmond said, still somewhat in a daze. "But I have a feeling we will meet again."

Amelia smiled and opened their cabin door.

"Haunting," She said with a delicate laugh. "Perhaps I should write a story about it."

At this, Richmond grinned and fell in with his love. They tumbled to the bed and closed the door behind them, quickly putting the dark-dressed man and his enigmatic statements out of mind.

The next few days were a dream. The Titanic, called the ship of dreams by lovers, romantics, and poets, was a world of wonder unto itself, a floating paradise of gold filigree and endless class. The lovers enjoyed fine dining in the morning and evenings and drank tea from the ship's cafe while staring out portcullises at the endless, indomitable ocean.

Despite the finery and gaiety of it all, neither Amelia or Richmond could quite get the enigmatic Dr. Hauser out of their minds, though when they inquired a steward about him they were assured no such individual was on board. This only served to trouble them more, until, on their fourth night of travel, Amelia voiced her concerns.

"It doesn't make any sense," She said. They were walking together under the canopy of stars, starboard side, hands entwined and coats pulled tight to keep out the cold. All about them were other passengers, mostly first and second class, engaged in tight huddles of joyous conversation. Richmond gently swirled a Cabernet.

"The steward said there was no Dr. Hauser on board, and you said that the night we boarded, you saw him, but he seemed to vanish into thin air," Amelia said.

Richmond nodded and shook his head, a puzzled expression on his face.

"I'd thought it a trick of exhaustion. I hadn't meant to worry you. Now I worry I may be losing my sanity," Richmond said.

"Well if you are, then I certainly am. He shook my hand. He knew who you were, where you worked," Amelia said.

Richmond didn't know what to think. He found himself at a loss for words and continued to drink, growing gradually more sullen over the mystery.

"what if it's your machine? The theories you were working on when Oxford kicked you out?" Amelia asked, her expression grave and serious. "It is a time machine, is it not?"

"It is, or, I should say, it was. Or maybe, it will be," Richmond answered mirthlessly.

Amelia had a twinkle in her eye now, the same spark of unquenchable enthusiasm that had drawn them together in the first place nearly ten years ago. She grabbed his hand and squeezed excitedly.

"What if that man is here from the future?! What if he is here for your time machine?!" Amelia said, gasping. "Oh, what a phenomenal story! I should write that down."

Amelia pulled him into the nearest lounge and scrambled for a writing implement, lost in the possibility of a good fiction premise, and Richmond smiled, watching her. By the time she'd finished a basic plot outline, Richmond had poured and finished a glass of wine and her idea, however improbably, had taken root.

"I will not deny that there was something remarkably strange about that man. I mean, think about it, someone you and I have seen, have had physical contact with, and yet not a single other person aboard this vessel can say the same? What are the odd's?"

"It is a right mystery, my love," Amelia said, curling into his arms. "Care to find the band and put this out of our minds for a bit?"

Richmond hugged her tight and kissed her forehead.

"I'd love nothing more," He told her.

That evening, the band was playing in one of the first-class smoking rooms, a decadent, lower-deck section of the ship reserved exclusively for men. Amelia laughed and joked about the nature of such gentleman club areas, but since they could hear the band playing through the door, the lovers decided to stay. The smoking lounge hallway, while largely built for utility, was still beautiful, with polished white walls, soft electric lighting and paintings hung every fifteen or so feet.

Richmond procured two glasses of Champagne from a passing steward and thanked the bewildered crew member for his discretion with a few pounds in his pocket. Entwined and dizzy, Amelia and Richmond danced on the plush red carpet, heedless of the incredulous looks passing first-class passengers gave them. They were happy and they were in love.

"The hour grows late, my darling," Amelia mumbled into Richmond's shoulder.

"Then let us retire, my love," Richmond said.

He kissed Amelia's forehead, ran a clumsy hand along her cheek, and told her he loved her. Drunk and happy, they made their way back to their second-class stateroom where they undressed and went to sleep, satisfied with life and eager for their next adventure.

A little less than an hour later, a slight bump woke Richmond. It was nothing more than a jarring scrape, a momentary discordant vibration, but it was enough to stir him from Amelia's arms.

"What is it?" Amelia mumbled, still groggy.

Richmond's calculating mind had several ideas as to what could cause a ship the size of the Titanic to quiver in such a manner.

"I don't know," Richmond began, trying to gather his thoughts. "I think...we may have hit something."

Amelia laughed.

"You must be joking. All this time calling her 'Unsinkable' and you're prepared to lose sleep over a little bump? Come back to bed," Amelia said.

She rolled over, tugging the blankets closer and Richmond frowned.

"All right," he said at last and laid down next to Amelia.

Rest, however, would not come to him. The former professor lay awake, listening to the gentle creak and groan of the mighty vessel and the reactions of her passengers to the strange, jarring sound. There was a good amount of foot traffic. A few minutes later Richmond sat up in bed and reached for his shirt.

"We've slowed. The engines have come to a stop," Richmond said.

Amelia nodded. Richmond stood up and started to get dressed. His heart was hammering and his limbs were shaking.

"Amelia. Get up. I mean it. Something is wrong," Richmond said. He went to her side and shook her gently.

"Darling?" Amelia questioned, but then they heard pounding footsteps just outside their door, heading towards the stairs.

Someone, a man's voice, probably a crew member, yelled out "She's taking on water!"

Amelia's eyes went wide and she shot up in bed.

"Get dressed!" Richmond said, helping Amelia to her feet. He scrambled to put on his shoes and then kissed her before she could protest. "I'll find out what's going on. Don't worry. I'll be right back."

"Richmond!" Amelia shouted, but he was already gone, dashing down the hallway towards the stairs.

Amelia threw on a yellow dress and a sensible jacket, then hastily put on her shoes, nearly falling over a few times. She noticed movement at her cabin and looked up, expecting Richmond. Instead, Amelia Farell found herself gazing into the red-tinted, purple eyes of Dr. Nikolai Hauser.

Her blood went cold and the breath shot from her lungs painfully as she froze. The enigmatic individual raised a black-gloved hand and flicked a pair of thin sunglasses over his eyes before smiling.

"I understand what he sees in you," Dr. Hauser said. Amelia couldn't see his eyes behind the black tint but felt his arctic stare nonetheless. It set her hair on end. He continued. "Look at you. Perfection frozen in time. Haunting, dreamy eyes questing for the deeper meaning in everyday life, the story, the truth. Of course, He would come back for you. It makes so much sense."

"What do you want?" Amelia demanded, standing up.

One of her boots caught on the blanket. Amelia glanced down for only a second to right herself, but when she again looked up, prepared to glare down the mysterious Dr. Hauser, he was gone. At least a dozen people ran past her stateroom and one, a crew member, paused and stuck his head in the door.

"Evening Madam," the young man said. He looked pale and sweaty. "Captain's ordered all passengers to the boat decks. I'd hurry if I were you."

"I heard she was taking on water," Amelia said, rushing to the door. "Is it bad?"

The young man, a boy really, no more than twenty years of age, mustered his courage.

"No, Madam, just a routine exercise. We'll have you back on board for breakfast," He said. He slapped the walls of the cabin. "Hop to, Miss, It's women and children first."

Amelia dashed into the hallway. Though there remained a sense of control amongst the passengers, it was clear an air of pandemonium had swept the Titanic. Amelia saw fear everywhere she looked as families gathered trunks and cases only to be told by passing crew members to leave them. The pervading noise of protest was all about her, heightened, Amelia realized, by the awkward listing of the ship and the angle of the paintings. No more than ten degrees, but noticeable nonetheless.

A collective gasp shot through the passengers and someone nearby shouted "Distress rockets!"

"Oh, God," Amelia whispered.

"There you are!" Richmond said. He pushed through forty or so passengers crowding the stairs to the upper deck and grabbed Amelia by the arm. His eyes were wide.

"What is it?" Amelia asked.

"We need to go. They'll be lowering lifeboats soon. Lines are already forming. I need to get you on one of them!"

"What about you?" Amelia asked, but Richmond was already pulling her through the crowd and up the stairs. "I don't want to go without you!"

Richmond didn't answer. They pushed through a gaggle of families arguing with a crewman about heading back down for their stuff and froze when they hit the open air.

The boat deck was chaos. Already over a thousand people lined the vessel on portside and starboard. Behind the Titanic, a massive iceberg floated. It seemed to Richmond and Amelia a mountain of ice.

For a moment, paralyzed with reality and indecision, the pair held hands and looked out at the tranquil Atlantic ocean. She was eerily quiet. The surface of the water was like a glass reflection of the stars above. That same serenity did not extend to the Titanic.

There were screams all about them and they could hear the sounds of rushing water further from the prow. Steam rushed in great bouts through the boilers, creating a tremendous, pressurized hiss that made conversation difficult.

"Back! Back!" Shouted several crew members, arms outstretched. Their faces were pale and their eyes were wide with fear, but still, they did their best to maintain order on the listing vessel.

Richmond stared in horror at the scene unfolding before him. The Titanic, the unsinkable ship of dreams, was sinking. The prow of the boat was already mostly underwater. If he'd only followed his instincts and gotten Amelia up sooner, they might have had more time.

"Women and children first! Women and children to the lifeboats!" The crew yelled, keeping back the majority of the crowd.

The Titanic was at a severe angle now, her nose squarely in the water.

"We need to hurry!" Richmond shouted.

Amelia could barely hear him over the panic of the crowd and the screaming steam belching into the night air.

Together, the lovers tried to make their way to the lifeboats, but the angle of the ship only got worse and they found themselves battling not only the cold night air but the sheer panic of the passengers.

The crew lowered the lifeboats into the water, but many were deployed only half-full. Cries of fear and outrage permeated the ship, as well as the constant sound of rushing water and the distant, echoing screams from below.

Richmond pushed and fought, battling through water-drenched deck ways as the ship continued to lurch, never once losing hold of Amelia. Once, they were nearly bowled over by a gang of eight crewmen dashing down a stairwell, shouting something about the gangway doors on deck E, and more than once they were forced aside by screaming passengers moving as fast as they could away from the prow.

"We're not going to make it!" Amelia shouted, looking around hopelessly. "The crew is in disarray! They aren't even trying for the lifeboats up there!"

Amelia pointed, but Richmond didn't have a chance to look or answer. The Titanic gave a tremendous groan and then a cracking sound shattered the night, as if the world was opening The stern of the ship, which had been rising steadily into the air, crashed back down into the ocean. Water gulped up the prow of the Titanic and the first of her majestic boiler stacks slid into the dark, icy depths.

"Run!" Richmond shouted, grabbing Amelia's hand.

Together, they splashed their way towards the stern. The things they saw baffled and confused them but adrenaline pushed them on. They saw a couple sit down and hold hands, even as the water rose to their knees. Another man handed his life belt back to a crew member stating that he would rather go down with the ship like a gentleman. They could hardly hear one another over the steam from the breaking boiler stacks and the screams of the other passengers, but Amelia could hear music coming from somewhere nearby.

She didn't understand why, but it calmed her and gave her strength.

"Over here!" She shouted, and pulled Richmond up a small flight of stairs and against the second to last smokestack.

Breathless and soaked, they grabbed hold of the metal ladder built into the massive yellow coal exhaust and watched in horror as human lives were swept away to either side of them. What lifeboats could be deployed were, and the unfortunate souls still left on the ship could feel her trembling as she sank into the cold ocean.

"If we run and jump, we can make one of the boats," Richmond was saying. He looked around frantically, his calculating mind trying to make the best of a doomed scenario. "The water is freezing, but if we swim hard and fast, we can make one of those boats."

The stern had settled into the freezing water but the angle of the ship was all wrong. The Titanic screamed as pressurized water tore apart her hull.

As Richmond held tight to both Amelia and the yellow smokestack ladder, he knew what was going to happen next. Amelia did too, though there was no science guiding her beautiful mind. With her free hand, she gripped tight to Richmond and shook her head into his chest.

"There's no reason," Amelia said, shivering against her love. "There's nothing to it. It's just like she said. 'We 'flew in the face of God.'"

Amelia laughed a strange sound amidst the hellscape of the sinking ship. Her head swayed slightly to the music she still heard.

"Love! The boats!" Richmond said.

"Forget them," Amelia said, placing a cold hand on Richmond's stubbly cheek. "Do you really believe we would make it if we jumped?"

Richmond closed his eyes. He was shuddering from fear and emotion.

"A chance, maybe. We could survive three to five minutes in that water, enough time for me to get you on-"

Amelia kissed him, silencing Richmond's stammering calculations.

"If there is even a chance I should live without you, I would rather die," Amelia said.

Richmond was exhilarated, terrified, and madly in love. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and held fast to their momentary illusion of stability.

Though death assailed the Titanic, ripping apart life and love at a staggering rate, for the moment, their hearts pounding in unison, Amelia and Richmond had each other. They gripped the shuddering ladder as the world tore apart around them and closed their eyes.

"I love you!" Richmond whispered.

"I love you!" Amelia whispered back.

The Titanic bucked and bent like a hinge, and with a terrible scream of twisting metal and dying passengers, the front half of the ship ripped apart, swallowed by the churning ocean. In one horrible moment, the smokestack that Amelia and Richmond clung to broke from its moorings and slid into the ocean, dragging the lovers down into the icy depths.

The stern sat for a moment, perfectly vertical, like a whale rising from the bubbling ocean. A handful of desperate, terrified passengers clung to the railing. Several more fell, dropping perilously into the waiting water below.

One man in a black leather coat gripped the flagpole at the back of the ship as if he'd planted it. His stance was proud though his expression was furious and dour. He stared at the space where Richmond and Amelia had crashed into the water and frowned.

A few seconds later the Titanic slipped below the icy water and Dr. Nikolai Hauser went with it, riding the sinking vessel to the depths of Hell.

* * *

Thirty years later...

"Awaken!"

Dr. Hauser flipped a rubber-plated switch in his laboratory and stood back. Lightning ripped across the sky, coaxed down through metal conductors before being gathered and shot into the heart of the humanoid construct lying on the iron slab before him.

Through the tint of his black glasses, Dr. Hauser sneered as the massive monster twitched under the barrage of raw elemental force. Its fingers spasmed and convulsed, plucking at the air with the grace of a classical guitarist. Its predominately male chest rose and fell, and air shot through the creature's mouth.

Nikolai Hauser, physically unchanged after all these years, threw the switch again, plunging the laboratory into darkness. A twisted smile crept across his stoic, fair features, and he listened intently.

A sucking sound filled the dark laboratory as his construct, still crackling with latent electricity, inhaled breath. Its skin sizzled, and its eyes flashed red with power. Then, with all of its sudden, horrifying existence, the creature gathered its breath and screamed.

"AMELIA!"

From the shadows, Dr. Nikolai Hauser emerged, arms outstretched and smiling like a proud father. The creature, naked and afraid, shirked away from the pale, powerful entity. It didn't know where it was, nor who it was, but instinctively, it knew the being standing over it was not human.

"Do you remember your name?" Dr. Hauser asked.

The creature shook its head.

"And the Titanic? Do you remember that?" Hauser continued.

The creature began to shake uncontrollably, as though cold. It put two massive hands to its head and began to howl. One word made it through the wailing.

"Titan...Titan...Titan..." The creature said, unable to finish the word.

Dr. Hauser smiled as though this was perfectly acceptable and marked something down on a nearby clipboard.

"But Amelia, you do remember her, don't you?" Hauser asked, his tone clipped and cruel.

The creature nodded, suddenly very focused. It grew still, watching its creator with burning, calculating eyes. Dr. Hauser nodded.

"Yes. You remember her. That means despite the new body, your brain is still very much intact. Your name..." Hauser paused, contemplating for but a moment. "Is Titan Hades, and your purpose, your divine, undeniable, sole purpose for being, is to get her back."

Titan's eyes blazed with understanding. Though it was only moments old, it began to ransack its drowned brain, searching for anything that could bring it the woman from its fragmented memories.

"The machine!" Titan said at last, struggling to stand.

It wobbled on long, muscular legs but managed to support its weight.

"Yes," Hauser agreed, putting a hand out to stabilize his bloody, lightning-infused creation. "What do you recall of your machine?"

END