Age of the Orc - 13

Then
25 Mar 3019 of the Third Age
15:35:13

In a sphere of ionized charge that repelled every atom and left an Orc-shaped hole in space, Morgrir arrived. Should one of the small figures on the ledge above looked down toward the pool of liquid rock below, they would have seen a powerful, naked figure appear for a moment.

Then the physics of Eru Ilúvatar asserted themselves.

The dust plug in the neural port at the base of the cyborg Orc's skull exploded, every atom expanding outward at the speed of light. The Orc did not have time to process the small figures that fought on the ledge above, or feel the heat of the lava pool. Did not have time to register a thought at all. as the release of energy ripped the flesh from the mithril-laced skeleton, and flash-fried the brain inside.

What was left of the naked Orc was an expanding cloud of superheated steam that slammed into the walls of the lava tube, which splintered and cracked. The **** of the explosion, when and where it occurred, shook the ancient mountain. Like the loose stone that starts the avalanche, the sudden burst of energy weakened a key wall, a pressure-chamber that had long threatened to burst.

Now, there was nothing to hold back the flood.

As the Orc's metallic skeleton collapsed onto the floor of the chamber, the world shook. A small figure fell, a glittering object in its hand. The Hobbits above fled, one clutching a bloody, four-fingered hand. Magma surged, seeking release.

The explosion could be seen from the Black Gate. The whole plateau of Mordor shook, vast rents opening that would swallow armies, and in two thousand years would be valleys where young Orcs would go on summer camping trips. The tower of Barad-dûr toppled and fell as its foundations collapsed.

As it always had been written.