Invincible: Escape from Viltrum

The last exhalation left him with a twinge of pain in his rib, but he followed through despite the failure, as always.

The two remained silent for a while, with only the reverberating vents filling the chamber being heard, mixed with the dull thuds of Korr's head striking the floor.

"Have you ever thought about Thragg?" Vexa asked suddenly, as if she were talking about the weather.

Korr almost choked on his own saliva at that question.

"Who, the Regent?"

"Yes," Vexa nodded. "The Regent. Have you thought about him? About what he's like? About how he's managed the Empire for centuries? I want to know your opinion, since you're so interested in Viltrumite 'totaletaruscan' government."

Korr reached two hundred and fifty. He took a second to catch his breath, placing his hands on the floor, head lowered.

"The word is 'totalitarian,' and no," Korr replied. "I don't have time to think about the current imperial administration. Even thinking about that is treason, if I remember correctly. Why do you want us to be executed?"

Vexa let out a short laugh.

"The simple criticism of the Empire you've just made is enough to get you executed, Korr-add. Don't worry, as long as you're with me, nobody will be able to lay a finger on you. Besides, Thragg is the most terrifying thing the Empire has produced in millennia. Genetic Class 2, unique and unmatched. Do you know what he's capable of?"

Korr sat up, deciding it was already time to sit and rest.

"I assume he has to be at least 1,000 times more powerful than an elite Viltrumite, right? They say he can destroy a planet."

At Korr's words, Vexa leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.

"Enough strength to split a planet apart, indeed. A cerebral processing speed twenty-two thousand times greater than that of an elite soldier, his working memory is even more superior, he calculates trajectories, predicts movements, senses the space around him as if he had a map inside his head. In simple terms, virtually unbeatable."

Korr stared at her, reflecting on those words.

He thought it was probably true, because honestly he didn't know what kind of power an emperor would need to control an entire super-powerful interstellar race.

"He sounds like a god," he said with curiosity rather than awe.

"That's what they've sold us, so far. I've only seen him a few times, you know, we're unique in the Empire. Class 6 and all that."

Korr raised an eyebrow at that.

"Sounds like you're not that fascinated by this Regent." Korr hinted, but Vexa merely shrugged.

"I have my 'differences' regarding that." She replied, surprising Korr.

"That's incredible," Korr admitted. He took the opportunity to lower himself to the floor again, resuming his sit-ups.

She remained silent for a few moments before asking,

"And do you believe it, that he's really that powerful?" she asked. "You may already know this, but you should know that the classifications were imposed by the Empire. Based on this, it is believed that such classification may not have any foundation."

Korr-add took a while to answer, saying,

"I think it's real. I think Regent Thragg is as powerful as they say. That's how his government is designed, isn't it? Where the strongest is the one who rules. What could be better than the strongest of all leading an empire of powerful beings?"

Vexa thought for a moment before saying,

"I think that... that's a problem."

Korr had to stop for a moment.

"What? A problem?" he asked, incredulous.

Vexa sprang to her feet, her white boots striking the floor softly. She began walking around him, circling slowly, her hands behind her back.

"Yes, there is a problem. But I suppose you already know it. Everything depends on a single super-powerful being to maintain the stability of the Empire, just like the great Emperor Argall. The peace and survival of our species depend on Regent Thragg remaining alive. It's not that we're weak without him, but we have so many enemies and so many battlefronts that eventually we are overcome by numbers and technological lethality. Viltrumites, though at a high cost, can also be killed. Worse still, if the Regent dies tomorrow, what do you think would happen?"

Korr followed her with his eyes as she paced back and forth, replying,

"The way I see things, I imagine the Empire would fracture once again and repeat another era of purges, perhaps even worse than the first."

"Exactly. The factions within the imperial high government would fight for the throne again, the hidden hybrids (the few that remain) would come out of their holes, the slave races in the colonies would rise up... behold the Great Purge once more. Only there won't be another Regent capable of stopping the destruction. And with our declining demographics, we might not survive."

She stopped for a moment, panting.

"You speak as if something like that were actually going to happen," Korr said, narrowing his eyes.

What was Vexa implying?

"I've just been thinking about it a lot and imagining it from time to time."

Vexa stopped in front of him, still with her arms crossed.

Korr felt that something wasn't entirely right with this somewhat crazy instructor. To begin with, what the hell was going through this girl's head?

"What's the point of all this, Instructor Vexa?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary, cadet. I'm just saying little things. You know, a bit of 'theory.' You come up with lots of theories too, don't you? Anyway." She paused for a moment before continuing. "Just think about it. Thragg is a double-edged sword; he has a great capacity for protection and deterrence throughout the galaxy unlike anyone else. But he also condemns us to his desires and his 'vision of what Viltrum should be.' And everyone who opposes his ideals must be considered traitors and exterminated. So what will happen when he's gone? Who will be the next Thragg? Can we always depend on an all-powerful being in order to achieve the greatness that Argall always desired for the species?"

Korr sat down again, ignoring the pain gnawing at his body.

"I think that... thinking about all that is completely stupid," Korr concluded, spitting out a thick glob of saliva.