I
Darkness.
Darkness, vast and boundless, much like the kind engulfing April Space City.
The star system's only natural light source was from the ancient White Dwarf at its center. Its faint glow barely offered light or warmth.
Born in the April Space City, Oliver had always considered it to be his entire world, with that chilling, dark void just outside its limits. Just like any other kid in the space city, Oliver, too, had questioned what lay beyond. The answer was always the same: Darkness.
In this cold, desolate Kaos Star System, peppered by little over a dozen space cities, ships from other space cities rarely visited. Things had gotten worse: it had been ages since a ship from another place had come.
Rumor had it that prior to Oliver's birth, the spaceport of April Space City was the busiest and most prosperous throughout the entire star system, with a never-ending flow of ships from other cities arriving daily.
Unfortunately, the Kaos Star System was engulfed in the flames of war, witnessing a devastating battle between the Sacrum Chu Imperium and the rebels over the Stargate. The exact details of those events were lost to history, with no one knowing who fired the first shot at the Stargate, or whether it was a deliberate act or an accident. The end result was the destruction of the Stargate. Since then, the Kaos Star System had remained isolated, cut off from the rest of civilization.
While the space city slowly decayed, the research area also started to fall into disuse. Scientists and staff, much like the residents from other regions, had abandoned the area. The space city's energy and life support systems were no longer capable of operating the entire city. The Carr Mining Group, which owned April Space City, shut down the research wing and some other non-essential areas, blocking access to these closed-off places.
Every child in April Space City feared the dark, especially those pitch-black passages shut with iron bars. Some parents told their children never to try their luck in those mysterious tunnels, claiming that terrifying monsters lurked within. Others spoke of the spirits of soldiers who perished during the clash between the Sacrum Chu Imperium and the rebels over April Space City, now wandering the shadowy recesses of the city. These ghosts were said to approach the living with a single question, "Have we won the war?" The first time Oliver heard this story, he was so terrified, he couldn't sleep all night. As he grew older, he understood that these were nothing but stories adults made up to prevent kids from roaming around recklessly.
Oliver was an explorer at heart, frequently venturing into those barred tunnels to discover the abandoned parts of the city. By the time he turned 10, he had mastered the layout of April Space City. The maintenance tunnel was a segment of the space city's maintenance network. During one of his explorations, Oliver accidentally stumbled upon a long-abandoned automatic repair device. He smuggled it home to fix it but was caught by his father, who had just returned from a shift. His father told him that the machine was beyond repair and couldn't be fixed. Even if fixed, it would serve no real purpose, anyway.
Remembering this, Oliver sighed. If he had managed to repair that machine, April Space City might have been a bit more put-together. This extensive maintenance network interconnected all residential and operational areas, and there were even passages leading to unknown sections. Mr. Kaos, his teacher, told Oliver that these were paths to the energy and storage zones and admonished him to steer clear of them due to the significant danger. In fact, Mr. Kaos was against Oliver entering any unknown passage.
Ah, Mr. Kaos. Sesom Kaos.
Oliver shook his head at the memory. Right, he should be on his way to see Mr. Kaos right about now. Or not. Oliver quickly overturned the idea. Oddly enough, he wasn't supposed to know Mr. Kaos yet. How could he be thinking of seeing him? Besides, he wasn't out to seek anyone at that time: he was, as usual, just aimlessly wandering and exploring.
Oliver let out a long sigh, and just then, a dazzling light lit up the surroundings, casting away the darkness and cloaking the cold tunnel walls in a flood of white. Squinting his eyes at the light, Oliver felt someone grab his arm and shake it.
"Grandpa, Grandpa," a girl's voice sounded in his ear, "Did you see it? We made it! We've succeeded! The Stargate is open!"
"What?" Oliver opened his bleary eyes and snapped back to reality. The dazzling Stargate filled his sight once more, sweeping the gloomy memory away. He recalled, yes, today... How could he have forgotten such an important day? Today, they were firing up the Stargate. Oliver stared at the swirling mix of gold and blue at the Stargate's core, the gateway to another world, the path of hope, the path leading to the stars and back home...
"Oh... I see... I see it now..." The old man's eyes were moist with tears. "Ah, I'm sure Mr. Kaos would be delighted to see this..."
Elly stood up, her eyes filled with concern as she glanced at Dr. Lu standing behind Oliver. Dr.Lu nodded gently to her, signaling that all was well, and murmured, "He's just experiencing some momentary mental fog due to some strong emotions. Everything's fine."
"I'm still quite worried about Grandpa's condition, Dr. Lu," Elly said, tiptoeing behind Oliver to speak with Dr. Lu, as an entire medical team nearby monitored Oliver's condition. "Is he really fit to travel through the Stargate?"
"Oliver's condition is not ideal," Dr.Lu whispered, "however, passing through the Stargate won't pose a risk to his health as far as I am concerned. The bright side is, based on the warp coordinates we have so far, a single leap should take us directly to the Explorers System. The City of Antontas has made all necessary preparations for his arrival, and a whole medical crew will escort Oliver there."
...
Antontas?
The sound of this name, both familiar and foreign, revived Oliver's long-forgotten memories like a ray of light piercing the dark ocean. The City of Antontas, where the headquarters of the Antonios Consortium was located, was the designated site of the Dawn Accord for the Explorers System. Countless Explorers started their ventures into the boundless stars from there, rebuilding the great Lagrange Network. Ah, that's right: the first time he heard the name "City of Antontas" was from Mr. Kaos.
Oliver realized where he'd been. He was 10 years old, back when he first met Mr. Kaos.
Oliver darted through the dim hallway, which appeared to be an area where scientists once lived. Holding a light, he moved through several abandoned rooms, now empty and stripped of anything that could be removed.
"Lame," Oliver complained.
Hearing his footsteps echo in the vacant rooms and hallways, he recalled how the first time he became aware of the echoes of his footsteps, he was terrified, almost to the point of wetting his pants. He thought the ghosts from the tale were coming after him.
But now, Oliver had completely dismissed the idea of ghosts. To keep the space city's essential areas running, they had taken almost everything from here. Yet, April Space City was enormous, and every exploration Oliver embarked on revealed something new, just like today. During his last visit, he discovered a hidden path, its entrance tucked away beside a maintenance tunnel. Had he not accidentally touched the door handle while wandering around, he would never have uncovered it.
Upon opening the door, Oliver found himself facing a new tunnel. A blast of dry and cold air rushed at him, carrying a subtly different odor than he was used to. Oliver sniffed, confirming it to be unfamiliar. He then shut the door, mentally marking this spot, and went home to get fully prepared before returning.
The broken pieces of his memory now connected, Oliver started to navigate this new tunnel. He rose from the floor and slowly made his way towards the glimmer of light.
"Hold on, where did the light come from?" thought Oliver. "There shouldn't be any light in these long-abandoned areas."
A mix of nervousness and excitement overwhelmed Oliver. He started to walk more softly, tiptoeing forward. He soon reached the end of the tunnel, coming upon a turn. As Oliver turned the corner, he bumped into something.
"AHHHH! Ghost!! It's a ghost!!!"
Oliver screamed his lungs out as he fell to the ground, staring at a dark figure right before him.
To Oliver's surprise, the "ghost" moved closer. Its figure became more imposing under the distant faint light. Oliver screamed even louder, but then the "ghost" reached out and patted his head, speaking softly, "Kid, don't worry, I'm not a ghost."
Slowly, Oliver calmed down, recalling the sensation of colliding with the ghost. Of course, a ghost wouldn't have a physical form, would it?
However, Oliver was still unsettled and asked, "You... You promise? You're not a ghost?"
"I promise," the shadowy figure responded, crouching. Oliver had yet to see the face clearly. A rough, warm hand reached out, brushing Oliver's face. "What brings you here, kid?"
Even though Oliver was certain that he wasn't dealing with a ghost, this stranger could still be someone dangerous. There were rumors of rebels hiding in secluded areas of the space city, "I... I'm lost..."
"Lost?" the man chuckled as he patted Oliver's fuzzy head. "It's quite hard to get lost in a place like this. Where are you actually going?"
"I..." Oliver paused, then asked the man, "Who are you?"
"Me? I'm a scientist."
"Scientist?" Oliver couldn't believe his ears, shaking his head. "Liar. There aren't any scientists in April Space City anymore."
"Wrong, kid." the man spoke each word with emphasis, then stood up, taking Oliver's hand. "I'm a scientist. Come on, kid. I'll show you a fun place."
That was Oliver's first encounter with Mr. Kaos.
Mr. Kaos led Oliver by the hand, walking through the dark tunnel and vacant rooms, finally arriving at a section in the corner of the space city. It was a round room with a porthole opened to the vast, silent void of space.
Astonished, Oliver took in his surroundings. This mysterious scientist had created a secret base here.
"Wow! This is incredible! You really are a scientist!" Oliver couldn't contain this excitement. "Why are you hiding out here?"
"Kid, come here."The man asked Oliver to come over. As Oliver got closer, he could clearly see the man's face for the first time under the faint light of the room. He was an old man with a full beard and a slender silhouette, yet his eyes were still bright and alert. He pointed towards the porthole: "Look."
Oliver walked up and stood on the tips of his toes to look outside. They were facing away from the White Dwarf, looking into pitch-back darkness.
"I don't see anything. Literally nothing," Oliver complained.
The old man pulled something out from a simple cabinet below the porthole and handed it to Oliver. "Here, use this."
Oliver accepted the item from the man with curiosity, only to discover it was a roughly made telescope. It was put together by cutting and welding multiple alloy tubes. There was not even a single electronic button, only a few mechanical gears for adjusting its focus.
"I crafted this myself, even polished the lenses," the old man explained, rubbing his hands. Oliver was beginning to find the man quite intriguing. "It's simple, but it's pretty useful. Over four thousand years ago, Galileo used his homemade telescope to spot the moons of Jupiter for the first time, challenging the foundation of geocentrism. Oh, look this way."
Oliver raised the telescope to look out the porthole. At first, all he could see was darkness. Soon after, a pair of hands gently guided the telescope, slowly moving it in a specific direction... There it was... Oliver's eyes widened in surprise as he saw a small, faintly glowing point...
Oliver started to get excited. Could that possibly be the "star" that only existed in legends?
"Did you see it?" the man asked softly.
Oliver put down the telescope, asking quickly, "Is that a star?"
The old man shook his head, "No, that's not a star. You can't see a star in this star system."
"Then what is it?"
"That's the Stargate we used to have," the older man answered, taking back his telescope and reaching out to Oliver. "I'm Sesom, Sesom Kaos. Nice to meet you, kid. What's your name?"
"Oliver, My name is Oliver," he replied, distracted by thoughts about the glowing point. "Why? Why can't we see stars here?"
