《The Gaia Project: The World of Terra》 A Fresh Start 1 The year was 2097, a year that many would prefer to forget as it was the year when the most chaotic and destructive war known to man came to its climax. Both sides of the war suffered devastating losses and the world was left barren. Only a select few places remained such as the breathtaking Amazon but, even in spite of these places, mankind¡¯s hope for survival seemed slim and bleak unless drastic changes took place. Humanity, standing on its seemingly helpless last legs, decided to cease all conflicts and try and settle the matter at hand. Every country poured all their remaining resources into finding a way to make humanity strive once again and this lasted for 100 years. The world seemed to be at peace once again as many creative ideas surfaced in order to retain peace, however, this peace would be short lived. As a century flew by, countries waged war again but this time it was far more lethal because it was chemical warfare. The war raged on for 20 years and, by the time it was over, a mere 5 percent of the population was left standing. Even the planet¡¯s most resilient places couldn¡¯t survive the impact of the war and the survivors were forced to find underground shelter, which was a place called Last Hope. The name sounded clich¨¦ if you may but it was without a doubt the last place on Earth where living was somewhat possible because if anyone tried going outside, even for just a few seconds, they would find themselves experiencing a death that you wouldn¡¯t wish upon the worst of your enemies. It was year 2317 and the leaders of the Last Hope were 3 old men and a young woman with a pale face. The woman was resilient, intelligent and was capable of identifying the entirety of your character in a single glance. Her name was Alicia and she was trying to convince the 3 other men for an audience with a guy called Hektor, a guy whose face would remind you of Wolverine but his body said something else entirely. ¡°Grand Elderly Trio, all I¡¯m asking is you give me and Hektor a chance to speak to you about our proposition¡± Alicia questioned hopefully. The Trio looked at each other and one of them, the one with the small but seemingly overweight physique, stated, ¡°Well, Alicia if you have something to say it is best to say it now before we go and start breakfast¡± The trio started laughing after this and Alicia, who seemed somewhat annoyed by the shenanigans, puckered her lips and went out of the room to get Hektor. Hektor entered the room and, while his face displayed a great deal of elegance, his body couldn¡¯t keep up. The trio looked at Hektor and said, ¡°So Hektor, what do you have that¡¯s so important that you would decide to disrupt breakfast to show it¡± the oldest of the Trio said, clearly annoyed by the entire fa?ade. The bald one, not hesitating to hide his clear discomfort, also made a somewhat rude remark as, ¡°Hektor, if what you show us makes me and the other Grand Elders sleepy and bored you might need to do a dance for us to entertain us while we do breakfast¡±. ¡°Grand Elderly Trio of The last hope it is not that I want to keep you from your breakfast it is just that time is of the essence and I am sure after this you will never have to worry about missing a meal ever again and can very well be better off than you are now¡± Hektor said with a huge grin. The Trio looked at Hektor as he was some sort of madman spouting nonsense and being expected to be praised for his hollow and meaningless words. The second of the trio the bald one, now showing more intrigue than before, asked in a rather sarcastic tone, ¡°So Hektor, you¡¯re implying that you¡¯re about to show us something so good that it¡¯ll redefine what we consider a quality life nowadays?¡±. Hektor, unbothered by all the sarcasm, glared at Alicia. ¡°Gentlemen, enough with your taunts and let us get down to business. We shall now begin the presentation of what I refer to as ¡®The Reboot¡¯ ¡°. Hektor had everything ready and gave the assistant the thumps up to start the presentation. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen, today I shall show you the true Last Hope for humanity!¡± Hektor Said. The lights in the room turned off and everyone was staring at the screen that Hektor¡¯s assistant hastily prepared. At first, the screen was nothing but pure white but this eventually faded into a view of space. Suddenly, a planet that seemed familiar came into view. Upon this planet¡¯s arrival, Hektor started talking with a newfound confidence. ¡°This is the World of Terra, a world somewhat similar to earth and also very different in a lot of ways and, no, this is not another world in another solar system nor is it an artificial planet, it is in fact a world that was made with the Gaia Program that is wired to the Terra Reactor of our very own Last Hope!¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Wait! The trio all barked. ¡°What is this nonsense about it being wired to the Terra Reactor?!¡± Upon hearing this, Hektor paused the video and looked at the trio with a stern expression and said. ¡°It is as I said it is indeed wired to the Terra Reactor and it was done by me and Alicia without your consent but, regardless of what your decision is today, you cannot remove the Gaia Program as it is the very same program that manages and runs the entire underground framework¡±. The Trio, infuriating by this act, wanted to call the guards to arrest Hektor but, before they could give out the order, Alicia was able to stop them with a few eloquent words. As the Trio raged on, Alicia said in a calm but stern tone, ¡°Gentlemen, it is true we did this without you knowing about it but rest assured it was done with intention of helping preserve our way of life and humanity itself from extinction so please listen and watch the video until the end and then what ever decision you make it up to you but mind you that this is perhaps the only way for us to actually continue living well that is if you consider what we have now a real way of living¡±. The Trio fell silent after these and all looked at Hektor and waved their hands at him opting him to continue with the presentation. The video started to play again and now it was showing the scenery inside the world and its lush green forests and crystal blue oceans and animals that ran about everywhere, it was a scene not even the Trio have seen personally for as the world on the outside has been desolate for such a long time that what they were seeing now caused all of them go all teary eyed with sadness of how things have turned out for their beloved Mother Earth. The scene now changed to a large city full of houses and a huge castle in the middle that looked like a giant lying down with arms crossed and, where the head should be located, was a tall tower with a single gigantic diamond at the tip which was as bright as the sun and was something that might actually be mistaken for the actual sun if you weren¡¯t paying attention This scene was indeed majestic but there was still something off about it. The Trio squinted their eyes in order to figure out the oddity but to no success. ¡°This is the World of Terra and this is Lands of Beginnings and it is a wonderful place but it is also uninhabited so you might as well refer it to a ghost town of sorts.¡± The entire scene faded into a pitch black darkness but, after a while, light erupted once more as a bed now showed and, in this bed, lied a young man who laid their in a seemingly peaceful slumber. Then Hektor showed up in the video and started to explain what was happening. This is a Crypto Bed Prototype and with this we can preserve a human for as long as the Terra Reactor is working and it is designed to keep the body frozen and under zero gravity as to not risk the body deteriorating and then comes the tricky part, which is how to keep the brain alive or so to say and this is where the Gaia System comes to play as it will take the humans consciousness and have it directly enter the World of Terra and live its life there as a citizen of The Land of Beginnings and some of you might wonder what would happen with ones memories and what would happen if the person in the world dies? Well for one the identities of the first generation is already set and everyone in our register is accounted for and although everything is indeed set that is only for the actual start after that it will be up to each individual how things play out and if you ask what happens if there is somebody born in the world then it is simple, this world has a set number of inhabitants and when there is life there is death but that doesn¡¯t mean this will always be the case for as we will be leaving people behind to act as World Moderators to maintain things on the outside and they along with their offspring are given the chance to also enter the world as long as there are people left to manage things and everything is with a failsafe so things won¡¯t go wrong and although they are indeed called world moderators they cannot actually influence the world and are only assigned to keep things stable on the outside and maintain everything as best they can until the day.. Hektor paused and said. ¡°The day we can once again step foot outside our beloved Mother Earth!¡± Hektor gestured to the assistant to cut the feed and spoke. ¡°Grand Elderly Trio!, I know you have your doubts as to what it is we are intending to do and might very well be against this because of the idea of losing yourself to this world but there is always an exemption to the rule and it is this¡±. Hektor asked the assistant to leave and looked at Alicia so she can explain the details. ¡°The world we are creating needs to be governed and maintained to be sure our race survives this and it is also crucial that we of the Chosen Circle do our utmost to teach and make sure the people of that world learn to live and cherish nature so we do not have another repetition of what has happened to our beloved Earth so you and a few others such as Hektor and myself will oversee The world of Terra and make it so everyone is kept in line and make it so that each person that is inside will have a close tie to nature and make it so that when the time comes for us to come back to our beloved Earth we shall be very different from the Humans of the past and look after it with care, we have a rough estimate of how long it will take for our world to once again be inhabitable but as you know the world of Terra works differently when it comes to the perception of time so 100 years in there is 1000 years here on the outside and we of the Chosen Circle will remain as ourselves and be sure to be there when the time comes for humanity to once again walk the Earth¡±. The Grand Elderly Trio, after what felt like an eternity of silence, spoke out. ¡°Alicia, if what you say is true and it will give our race a chance at another life then we are all for it but why are you so confident that the people will actually desire to return to Earth after all the chaos and turmoil the planet went through?¡± Alicia smiled and said, ¡°Ever hear the weird saying wanting to find ones root or simply being homesick of the feeling of wanting to go home, well humans no matter where they are will always think of home and thus the people who will be in the world of Terra will all have lived many different lives but will once regain the memories of this life when the time comes.¡± The Grand Elderly Trio all smiled and asked when the process would start. Alicia looked to Hektor and he said this. ¡°The preparation has actually been underway for quite some time and the Crypto Bed is close to completion. It¡¯ll be around ten years before we can ask the people to join us on this quest¡±. The eldest of the Trio stood up with actual hope in his eyes after such a long time and said, ¡°If this is what is needed then I advise you to make haste as we cannot delay the chance to give humanity a prosperous and tranquil life once again¡±!. Hektor smiled at these words and said out loud. ¡°Humanity will now embark on a journey to attain a fresh start!¡± A fresh Start 2 Hektor, anxious for the completion of his Crypto Bed, remained quite busy for the next couple of weeks as he aimed to finalize the project. The core functionality of his prototype seemed to be intact but there were still various issues and things seemed to be a tad bit rough around the edges, for instance, the size and durability so there was still much to be worked on. Fortunately, the backing of the Last Hope organization gave him the resources he needed While it was certainly true that everything was falling into place, Hektor still thought that some crucial component was amiss and that everything was too easy and, alongside this, it didn¡¯t take long for one of the elders to ask him a very weird request and that particular conversation went something like this: ¡°Hektor, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?¡± the second of the Elders, the one with the small stature and somewhat robust physique, asked. Hektor looked at the elder and nodded. ¡°Well, for starters, I was wondering what you plan to do for the Chosen Circle, It¡¯d be better if we defined proper roles for each individual¡± The second elder suggested. Hektor looked at the elder and said, ¡°It¡¯s pretty much similar to a board of directors where we move in the shadows while the so called king governs the lands and as such we are the ones that are actually pulling the strings and each one will have a department they will personally handle and for what those departments are I still need a bit more time to work on it and of course discuss it with the entirety of the Chosen Circle¡±. The elder grinned and said, ¡°Oh, so we¡¯d essentially be the gods of the new world?¡± Hektor shook his head, not particularly fond of the idea of being conceived as a god. Although they did have an absurd amount of control over things, they still couldn¡¯t control human action itself so the idea of being considered a God seemed to be a bit too far-fetched. The elder patted Hektor on the shoulder and said: ¡°You truly are a good person but, from time to time, power ultimately becomes a necessity because, in order to maintain control, you need to display power because you won¡¯t be able to govern the place otherwise¡±. Hektor looked around with an emotion of sheer disgust on his face and said, ¡°Elder, I don¡¯t necessarily mean to be disrespectful but what makes you think everything is how it should be, I mean look at what happened to our beloved Mother Earth with all the control and power you¡¯re referring to¡±. The elder, wide eyed and in shock, rebuked Hektor and furiously said ¡°Why! I outta! How dare you speak to me like that. Don¡¯t forget that your plan wouldn¡¯t even be effect had it not been for the power that¡¯s being spoken of¡±. Hektor cleared his throat and said ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to put it that way dear Elder, it¡¯s just that in the new world we are trying not to recreate what we have here on earth but start anew and we must learn from our mistakes and look to the future of not only humanity but for the earth as well. Now, if you would excuse me, I have a meeting with Alicia. If you want something else please look me up after a few hours. I will take my leave now respectful elder¡±. The elder looked at the figure of Hektor walking away and thought to himself with a sinister grin on his face, ¡° Hektor, Hektor oh dear foolish Hektor, you just don¡¯t get what potential this world of yours holds and the endless possibilities of being in complete control of it. You might perceive yourself to be a righteous person but there is always a fool in every group I just need to find that fool and make use of him to make my plans into reality. I, Vaicard, swear that I will not rest till I see this through¡±. The elder known as Vaicard now walked away and when he was a few meters away he stopped and asked ¡° I know you¡¯re there, I might be old but I have lived long enough to know when there is an eavesdropper nearby, now come out and tell me what you want and why are you following me?¡± A hooded person soon came to light and gave a letter to the elder and then walked away into the darkness of the corridor.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Vaicard watched the man walk away, clearly unbothered by the disruption, and opened the letter in his hand. The grin on his face widened as he opened the letter and he was now sure that his plans would eventually come to fruition, one way or another. ¡°Hektor, it¡¯s just like you to walk in places like this while lost deep in your thoughts. I¡¯ve been walking before you for a while and even called out to you a few times but you didn¡¯t seem to respond. Not surprising at all, though, you¡¯ve always been like this. Anyway, what do you intend to do now that you need to visit the Terra Reactor?¡± Hektor felt awkward upon hearing this question and simply stood there like an idiot, grinning from ear to ear, and said. ¡°I was actually going to look for you but my thoughts got the best of me and I just started walking towards the Terra Reactor¡±. Alicia pouted her lips and said ¡°I realize that you want to get everything in order as soon as possible but please don¡¯t spread yourself too thin. I know you claim to be okay but I know for a fact that your condition isn¡¯t getting any better so I highly recommend resting before you get up to anything else.¡± There was deafening silence for a while but, after this, Hektor simply gave Alicia a hug, thanked her for her concern and assured her that he¡¯s quite alright and that they simply need to make sure that the Gaia Program is completed as soon as possible because it¡¯s for the greater good of the entire civilization, or what¡¯s left of it at least. Alicia, still in the embrace of Hektor, wiped her teary eyes and asked him again what he planned to do in the Terra Reactor and Hektor told her this, ¡°I am going to talk to you about the final fail safe of the World of Terra because I am still not certain that everything will go as planned and I want to be sure that even if something DOES happen I will have a back up plan¡±. Alicia knew that she couldn¡¯t prevent Hektor from doing what he needs to do as she knew that he is a very persistent man and that is one of the qualities that she loves about him. They both started walking until they came upon a huge door made of a strange black material that didn¡¯t seem to be anything ordinary but something entirely alien to the planet earth. It was, in fact, an ore extracted from an asteroid that hit the earth a few decades ago and was made the main infrastructure as it had very peculiar properties such as incredible strength, the ability to block magnetic waves and the fortitude to withstand a full-fledged nuclear destruction. Hektor went up to the control panel to the left of the door and entered the pass key and the door slowly opened and when it did what they saw was a very spacious room with a big black box in the middle that had two big capsules next to it that seemed like it was full of some weird looking green liquid. This was the Terra Reactor that the Last hope relies upon it is, in fact, a super computer that is powered by two cylinders of what they call the Sun and Moon which are a liquid like substance that is powered by solar and lunar panels installed on the outside and it is perhaps what others can call a self-sufficient energy source. With everything said and done it doesn¡¯t only get power from the sun and moon but retains it and can even reproduce a certain amount of energy via a method they called the Cycle where the solar and lunar powers actually combine and multiply by a certain degree and with this it is said that it can maintain the power for a few thousand years but of course it is still only a theory for as they haven¡¯t really had the time to fully investigate the exact properties of these elements but it is what it is and it is all they have so they can only hope it does what it is intended to do. Hektor looked at his creation and thought back to the time he discovered this method and had Alicia do what she needed to get it approved by their country thereby creating the Last Hope but it was Hektor¡¯s idea for Alicia to take full credit as he was certain that if it was known that he was the creator of the Terra Reactor things would not have turned out the way they did as Alicia not only had a high position at the time but she also happened to work on the project so it certainly isn¡¯t a lie that she¡¯s among the creators of the Terra Reactor. Alicia was also reminiscing when she noticed Hektor pulled something out of his pocket and hand it to her. Upon seeing the item, she inquired what it was and so Hektor responded, ¡°Dearest Alicia, this is the Gaia Program¡¯s God Card and with it, you would be able to make three changes to the world of Terra regardless of rules. I know I said that I would not allow the Chosen Circle to actually play god in this world but I made it as a last rest to use if there really will come a time where we do need to intervene. I¡¯m giving it to you because I want you to act as a guardian to the world of Terra without anyone doing it. I sincerely trust your judgment and, while it¡¯s selfish of me to hand this burden over to you, I feel that you¡¯re the only person with the sense and judgment to make the right call if push comes to shove¡±. Hektor smiled at Alicia and, for some reason, looked a lot older than he did a few minutes ago. Alicia was at a loss for words but, in spite of this, she took the card and said to Hektor, ¡°Hektor what are you talking about we shall have no use for this thing and besides YOU will make it into the world of Terra even if I have to start the operation ahead of schedule¡±. Hektor wanted to rebuke Alicia but saw the determination in her words but said something that would not seem like a real argument but did the trick nonetheless. ¡°Alicia, I know you would do that so I made certain that what you just said would be close to impossible as I have already used the 1st wish on the card so that the start date doesn¡¯t change and why are you writing me off already?, I¡¯m not dead yet and not planning to die before I can even start this so please don¡¯t say such foolish things okay?¡±. Alicia hugged Hektor, gave him a kiss and said, ¡°I can never win when you start analyzing everything from start to finish like that, sigh¡±. Hektor smiled, patted her on the head and replied while letting out an awkward laugh, ¡°Dearest Alicia, to be honest, this only works on you because you know me so well, now enough of this before we start crying like babies and get snot all over ourselves.¡± Alicia then asked a question that made Hektor go back to his serious self, ¡°Hektor when are you going to announce the people that are going to be in the Chosen Circle and what will their roles be?¡± Hektor looked at the Terra Reactor and said: ¡°In 10 days I will be ready to start the meeting and discuss the Chosen Circle!¡± Alicia looked at the Terra Reactor and smiled while clutching the God Card in hand hoping that it will never be used. The Chosen Circle 1 Hektor started his day with the usual and started to go over the fine details for the Crypto Bed like always he passed down orders to his assistant to handle the rest of the day while he works on his notes and preparations for the upcoming announcement of the Chosen Circle. Hektor was fiddling with his pen when suddenly he heard a commotion coming from the nearby lab and out of curiosity he decided to take a quick break and take a look and so he slowly walked up to the location where he heard all the screaming and when he saw what was happening his jaw dropped and he couldn¡¯t believe his eyes for as what he saw was both comical and very irritating at the same time and the culprit of it all was a little boy who was in rags and had a bag of some sort in his hands while being chased by the guards and the boy was quick agile and nimble that all the guards were screaming and doing the best they can to catch the boy and then for some reason the boy ran into Hektor¡¯s direction and of course you can probably guess what happened next, but if you can¡¯t it goes a little like this. Hektor caught off guard by the sudden events couldn¡¯t dodge and was hit by the running boy and was toppled over and to make matters worse the bag that the boy was holding broke and what came out was what looked like beans and some herb as it turns out the boy had stolen what he thought was food but turned out to be seedlings that were going to be stored for the upcoming deep sleep of the Last Hope but of course the boy couldn¡¯t have known that and was just so hungry that he took his chances and grabbed what he could and made a run for it but was seen and that is what started this shenanigan. The guards took the opportunity to catch the boy while he was flat on his face right next to the poor fragile Hektor and of course was caught and the guards helped poor old Hektor up and wow was he an awful site for as all the herbs and dirt that came from the bag was all over him and there was even bean sprouts on his hair that made him look funny that the guards couldn¡¯t help smirk at the site but quickly suppressed it when they noticed that the I.D card that he was wearing was gold that indicated that he was someone important but of course they had no idea who Hektor was because Hektor had always kept a very low profile and if you would ask all the teams that are helping finish the preparations for the upcoming Project Gaia they would tell you that the one in charge was Hektor¡¯s assistant but let''s not get into too much detail with that because what happened next was both interesting and funny for as the minute they helped Hektor up the up screamed. ¡°Master, I was just tempted by my old habits, I mean it''s not like I stole something important it''s just that they looked so delicious that I couldn¡¯t help my self!¡±. Hektor looked at the boy and lifted an eye brow and examined this boy from head to toe, the boy was of dark skin but not as dark and had curly short black hair and black eyes that one could see had intelligence in them and his face had a certain look to it, it was what some would say a crafty look but you could also tell that although it might have a tinge of craftiness you could tell that he was still too immature to pull it off but none the less the effort show was indeed worthy of praise and somewhat touched Hektor¡¯s heart as he knew that the kid had only done it due to poor living conditions and that he for one understood that even though the last hope did have food it couldn¡¯t just give everyone a full belly for as supplies were of limited quantity and like most power structures had the high-class people, the mediocre and of course the people in the slums and with one look you could tell that this kid was from said slums. Hektor cleared his throat and glared at the kid and tried his best not to laugh and to try and pull a fast one on the kid and the guards. ¡°Boy! How many times do I have to tell you not to pull this sort of things!, you are a valuable test subject of mine and I can¡¯t have you getting caught by guards and bein g punished I mean you are my sole test subject for the many viruses from the outside and if I''m successful everyone can ones again go outside but look at what you¡¯ve done, now you have been in contact with other people what would happen if they catch some sort of disease!¡± The guards all backed away from the kid and started shaking when they hear this and boy did they look silly when they started taking their clothes off and wiping their hands and some even started vomiting and when Hektor saw this he somewhat felt guilty but as they said it¡¯s hard to get off a horse once you start riding it so he went on. ¡°Guards I am sorry for this disturbance but rest assure all you need to do is go straight to the shower rooms and burn your garments and drink water mixed with vinegar and take the day off and you will be fine and who ever is in charge of you please give me his name and your names so I can arrange a day off for you and so that you can be compensated for this I am truly sorry I hope you won''t make things worse I mean I don¡¯t want to have to go to the elders and explain this because knowing how they do things¡­ we could all be silenced, so please just do as I say and we can forget this all started in the first place.Stolen story; please report. Hektor looked around and saw a few citizens looking around and made another statement. ¡°Ladies and gentlemen the show is over and please give your name to the officers and do the same thing with them and I will make sure you get compensated as well I am sure you also don¡¯t want the elders finding out what happened here, so please just follow me and forget what ever took place here. All the people that were around started to go up to the officers and gave their names and headed straight home to take showers and burn their clothes and do the ¡°special remedy¡± that Hektor had prescribed. When everyone was gone Hektor found himself facing the young boy who was looking at him with both reverence and fear and then Hektor asked him. ¡°Boy what is your name, and I would like to make a proposition for you¡±. The boy stood straight and said. ¡°My name is Zahid, and I am not ashamed of what I did for as I only did what I had to do to survive and it is not like I hurt anyone and another thing, (he dropped to his knees) please accept me as your student! I wish you to be my Master oh cunning one, I have always dreamed of being able to use words to make things go my way so please give me this chance I promise I won¡¯t disappoint you and I won¡¯t even eat that much just enough that I won¡¯t starve to death!¡±. The boy had a steadfast stance and looked as determined as anyone can be but was funny in a way because after a few seconds he started to wobble and looked like he would fall over and tried to straighten up again when Hektor asked him to follow him and would have him eat some food and without another word the boy called Zahid followed Hektor and things would never be the same for poor old Hektor, true it wasn¡¯t in a bad way but it was a headache none the less but let us not talk about that for now for as something else was happening in the Last Hope and this time it was Alicia doing something interesting. Alicia was in a garden that was full of herbs and medicinal plants and was a bit dazed by the strong aroma of the place and was also somewhat annoyed for as she had been waiting there for over 2 hours while waiting for an old man tend to his plants and the old man was quite agile at what he was doing he was trimming plants here and there and measuring some and was also putting some sort of concoction in the ground around the plants, the old man had a long grey beard and head full of grey hair and had a face that was quite rough looking but had gentle eyes that made him look a bit weird or so to say and what made him stand out the most was that he was neither tall nor short it was the fact that he actually had a hump on his back and was limping whenever he moved but looked like he was so used to it that he made striding thru the garden with ease, Alicia feeling annoyed cleared her throat and said. ¡°Dr. Philias I just want to know if you can attend a meeting with the elders that will take place in a couple of days, I can¡¯t tell you the details but all I can say is that it involves your expertise and it is of utmost importance that you attend this meeting for I know that you will be very interested in it.¡± Dr. Philias stopped in his tracks and said in a gruff voice. ¡°Oh is that so, well if that¡¯s the case then if I do attend this so called meeting of yours do I get a say in matters or is it already a given that I have no say in the matter that you want me to do?¡±. Alicia smiled and replied. ¡°Dr. Philias it is as you say that it is indeed something you can¡¯t decline nor ignore but all I can say is that when you do hear what is to be said I am confident that you will not decline and perhaps be very interested in doing it and I say this because I for one know what it is and from what I can see you are perfect for it and you have the passion to boot.¡± Dr. Philias stroked his beard and started pacing back and forth while grumbling something and thus said. ¡°Pfft, ok fine ill go to this so called meeting but let me tell you that if I don¡¯t like what I hear I couldn¡¯t care less what the elders do to me and I will flat out decline and leave, I am already old and have no fear of death or punishment, if there is one thing I¡¯m afraid of¡±, he paused and looked around and continued,¡±it is to leave my beautiful children behind¡±. Alicia looked a bit sad when she heard this and said. ¡°It is what you say, we all have things we care for in THIS world but if there was a chance that you can once again make the world what it was in the past, when the land was not barren and forest and jungles and animals ran about, let me ask you, what would it take for you to make this happen?¡±. Dr. Philias was silent for a long moment then just gave Alicia a nod and said. ¡°You got me at the I can¡¯t decline part but I just wanted to get my point across but I am not very interested in knowing what it is you and the elders of Last hope are planning but ill bite and only because I like you and if my old bones can do something to help them even if I have to be dragged around in a wheel chair I won¡¯t think twice and do it!¡±. Alicia looked at Dr Philias and shook his hand and left without saying a word but was touched by how this meeting had turned out and it seemed that her visit to this old man would be something she can brag about to Hektor and this made her want to see that look on his face for as it is known how stubborn the old dr could be. Hektor was now in his room and to the side was Zahid stuffing his face with food and trying to talk at the same time but Hektor could hardly understand what the boy was saying for as he was talking with his mouth full but Hektor had a smile on his face and asked Zahid a very weird question. ¡°Zahid what if I told you that I can not only teach you what I did earlier but also do something that will change your life forever?¡± Zahid stopped eating and cocked his head and asked what did Hektor mean and Hektor said the following words. ¡°Zahid follow me for we shall change the world!¡± The Chosen Circle 2 It was an early morning just like any other when Zahid woke up. He was in a little chamber right next to Hektor¡¯s room. Upon getting up, Zahid went to the bathroom, washed his face, looked himself in the mirror and said ¡°Good Morning Handsome!¡± with a grin on his face. However, unlike all the other mornings, this particular one was filled with anticipation because Hektor had promised him something truly extraordinary. Zahid left his small cramped room and headed to the hallway where he started walking around. The guards from the other day saw him and tried their best to stay away from him for they could now see that he was wearing a Silver ID card stating that he wasn¡¯t¡¯ someone they can trifle with anymore. Zahid also walked with a newfound confidence as he knew that he could potentially have a life where he¡¯d be regarded as a person of great importance; a life in which words hold actual sway and power. Zahid admired the hallway as he made his way through it. It was only yesterday that he was sneaking through this place in order to avoid any unwanted attention but, now, he could walk with his head held high, however, this still didn¡¯t stop people from giving him strange looks. Zahid then headed to the cafeteria to get his morning rations and he was excited because it was his first time going there and when he was in the slums, well let¡¯s just say that it was different there and leave it at that. Although the line to get to the cafeteria was quite long, Zahid saw no other choice at the time and decided to take his place in it. The entire wait felt long and tedious but, all of a sudden, a girl wearing a red ribbon on her neck and with blue eyes and blond hair bumped into him and that would be the start of a very interesting scene. Zahid caught unprepared fell flat on his behind and was shocked to see the girl still standing in front of him like nothing happened then she gave Zahid a look of disgust and said. ¡°Oh I''m sorry, I didn¡¯t see you there and what are you doing down there, surely you didn¡¯t fall from being by little ol me did you?¡± Zahid was rendered speechless by this and could only stare at the girl and then she said something that she shouldn¡¯t. ¡°You¡¯re a man aren¡¯t you, instead of looking like an idiot you should at least apologize to this lady¡±. Zahid rolled his eyes and said, ¡°A lady? where can I find this lady you speak off and I was here first you just appeared out of nowhere and I¡¯m hungry so it¡¯d be best for you to get out of the way¡±. The girl shocked by this went red in the face and started pouting and said before leaving, ¡°This is an enormous mistake on your end, we¡¯ll see who gets the last laugh when I¡¯m through with you!¡±. Zahid looked at the departing girl with a ribbon on her neck and decided to give it no more heed and get something to eat. Zahid was in the line for a good 10 minutes before he heard someone screaming at the back and this is what he heard. ¡°Father, this is where I last saw the scoundrel who said that I wasn¡¯t a lady and took my place in the line. Oh, and he bumped into to me and didn¡¯t even say he was sorry and just look at my blue dress it¡¯s in a mess thanks to him¡±. The father she was referring to was a big hulking man clad in a black suit and had eyes that were both intimidating and kind but what made him stand out was he had ten people behind him all formed in a straight line and looked like some sort of private army awaiting commands to strike. All this clearly implied that the father was someone truly important. The father looked around for a bit and with a smile on his face said to his daughter, ¡°Amy, I¡¯m sure it was all a misunderstanding but fret not I will see to it that the person you are referring to will get what he deserves if proven guilty of course.¡± Zahid felt his scalp go numb at this and thought that his day couldn¡¯t get any worse. Zahid started to back up and was waiting for a chance to slip away when all of a sudden he saw the girl looking straight at him and she started pointing and screaming that it was him thereby causing Zahid to become frozen in place. He was in the midst of devising a plan to get out of this mess when the father walked up to him and inspected him from head to toe and noticed that Zahid had a Silver ID card on his neck and so the father lifted an eyebrow and asked. ¡°Boy, who are you and how did you acquire a silver ID card?¡± Zahid, jolted to his senses by the questions, answered. ¡°My name is Zahid and it was given by my master Hektor. Sir, may I ask what seems to be the problem?¡± The father looked at Zahid and said, ¡°My name is Quantus and my daughter Amy said that you bumped into her and, instead of apologizing, you said some distasteful things.¡± The father had squinted eyes when he looked at Zahid and was waiting to see what his answer would be when all of a sudden Zahid started walking away. One of the men standing behind Quantus yelled at Zahid and said. ¡°Stop right there don¡¯t you know that this is the Great General Quantus who led the escapees here to the Last Hope and fought off the rebels that wanted to destroy us?!¡±.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Quantus was certainly surprised by Zahid¡¯s actions and, upon being asked for an explanation, this is what Zahid said to him. ¡°Sir, I overheard you and your daughter but I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s much to be explained since this was all a big misunderstanding in the first place and, while it is true that I didn¡¯t apologize, it was only because your daughter didn¡¯t give me the chance to and immediately resorted to threatening me so I dropped the matter entirely and focused on getting something to eat because I have important business to attend to afterwards so if you would excuse me.¡± Zahid walked two steps forward then stopped and looked at Amy and said. ¡°Dear Lady, I truly am sorry for the incident that happened earlier but I implore you to take no heed of my lack of manners as it is early in the morning and I haven¡¯t had my morning sunshine so I was just a bit grumpy but you need not worry because I give you my word that I¡¯ll make up for what had transpired here now if you would excuse me I have urgent matters to attend to¡±. Quantus and Amy looked at each other and Quantus said in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen someone talk his way out of trouble, I¡¯d like to know who his master is¡±. Zahid started to walk away when all of a sudden he stopped in his tracks and remembered he hadn¡¯t gotten his food yet but knew that if he stayed any longer he might not be able to get out of this mess anymore and so he decided to just soldier on and go back to his room. Quantus saw this. Quantus could only give out a bittersweet smile at this point because he knew that he could no longer go after the kid but, all things considered, he knew that the whole incident could have been avoided had his daughter held her temper. Nonetheless, though, he promised to make it up to her daughter. While Amy was certainly annoyed by the events that just took place, she stills seemed to have developed an interest in the boy. She was truly intrigued by how someone so young could carry himself in front of her father. The entire scene, to an outsider, felt like a good show before breakfast and Zahid on his way back felt weak and hungry, he is used to being hungry but this time what made him feel bad is that he had a chance at getting to eat ¡®REAL¡¯ food and at the main cafeteria at that but alas with how things turned out he could only hope that trouble doesn¡¯t find him again. Zahid decided to pay his master a visit, perhaps he could at least get something to eat if he did. Hektor was in his room working on his notes when someone knocked on his door, he slowly stretched his arms back and got up and opened the door to see Zahid standing in front of him with eyes full of reverence and so he welcomed him in and offered tea and biscuits as refreshments. Zahid loved the idea of tea and biscuits for as he had never had tea for it was actually something very hard to get these days and was quite pricey too but looks like Hektor had quite a stash for himself so he got to it and when he finished he asked his master what he could do for him today and Hektor said. ¡°Zahid, for the time being, you should relax and have your refreshments. I¡¯m currently working on something and it¡¯ll take me a little while. I have something to show you so just sit tight and wait for me, okay?¡± Zahid nodded and went back to eating and savoring his tea and it seemed like this would be his new favorite snack. Two hours later, Hektor closed his notes and put them in his side pocket. He then got up and went up to Zahid and asked him to follow him and so they left. To Zahid, it seemed like they had been walking for miles upon miles and there seemed to be an eerie silence in the air as well but Zahid thought better of it and decided not to pester Hektor with unnecessary disturbances by asking what¡¯s going on. They soon arrived at a big laboratory and, before entering, they were stopped by guards asking them what they wanted and Hektor just flashed his Gold ID card and the guards immediately stepped back and apologized for questioning them. Upon entering the facility, Zahid was amazed by all the different gadgets and machinery. Noticing Zahid¡¯s gleeful and illuminated eyes, Hektor said, ¡°Zahid, welcome to my laboratory, today you are going to experience something extraordinary and I¡¯m sure that you will never regret doing it.¡± Zahid lost in a daze almost didn¡¯t hear his master and just started walking around looking at everything. Since he was from the slums, this was all clearly a new experience for him but, perhaps the most exciting thing about the place was the fact that everyone seemed to approve of him and were giving him compliments and sometimes even engaging in conversations with him. Hektor laughed at Zahid and knew exactly why he was so happy and decided to leave him be while he looked for his assistant and asked a nearby scientist. ¡°Excuse me Roger, but do you know where I am to find Dr. Elbert?¡± The man looked at Hektor but didn¡¯t recognize him and pointed to the back room and went back to work, the man didn¡¯t really take notice of Hektor and thought that the only reason he knew his name was because of his name tag but what he didn¡¯t know is that Hektor personally hand picked his team and so knew a lot about them. Hektor went to the back room and found his apprentice Elbert working on a computer and said. ¡°Dr. Elbert, why, aren¡¯t you a busy bee¡± ¡°Oh Hektor, you¡¯re just in time. I¡¯m just adjusting something here for the simulator and then we can start with the initial dive run¡±, said Elbert who was excited about the thought of testing out the thing that he had been working on for such a long time. It was a dream of his to make something like this and save the world and was very happy indeed to be a part of it. Hektor smiled and went to fetch Zahid from his shenanigans. Zahid was intrigued why Hektor dragged him into a back room that only had two beds in them, but also confused when he saw the beds looked a bit weird and had some sort of glass casing around it and so asked what they were planning to do and Hektor just looked at him and asked him to lay down in one of them while he entered the other one. Zahid tilted his head and wondered if they were going to take a nap, I mean it is still early and he couldn¡¯t fall asleep now even if he wanted to. And so they both got into the bed and Elbert then said. ¡°Ok, gentlemen we shall now start the initial dive run operation!¡± Zahid got spooked when the glass door suddenly closed and he felt trapped but saw that Hektor was completely calm and so decided to do the same but of course, it was only to a certain extent that he could do so, he was, in fact, shaking a bit. Then some sort of gas filled the bed covered in glass and Zahid suddenly felt dizzy and passed out and when he woke up he saw that he was in a very weird place filled with green poky things on the ground and felt something hot on his face and when he looked around he was so shocked that he started screaming. ¡°HEKTOR!!, where are you! are we dead? Is this what they call heaven?¡± Hektor was next to the screaming boy and felt a tingling sensation in his ears and tried his best not to cover his ears and make Zahid feel embarrassed and so he said this. ¡°Zahid, you are now in the Wolrd of Terra, the world of cyberspace and the new home for humanity and the place where dreams come true and hope is not an impossibility!¡±. Zahid dazed at the scenery looked up and saw a red shining thing and passed out again. Hektor just shook his head and smiled.