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Extracts from chapter 3

Newt exited hypernavigation and arrived on sight of a quite small planet, the only one orbiting around a double-star solar system. In itself, this little Earth seemed only made of rocky mountains around which an omnipresent desert was spreading, covering the entire surface. No signs of water could be seen from space or of any human colonization for that matter. This planet would have certainly been saved from the Great Expansion because of the flagrant danger the lack of stability of the double star represented. Newt landed on the planet so Max could set foot on the ground. “I cannot stay on the ground here. I have to stay in space. But do not worry I am still around watching over you, Max” the vehicle said before he rapidly vanished in the sky.

Max did not have the time to answer that he found himself alone, lost in the middle of a gigantic desert. He was lost, on a remote and unknown planet he had never heard of, despite the fact he was renowned at his university as a spatiography genius. Instinctively, he started walking towards the mountains he had seen from space, where he hoped he would find a place to hide from these blazing suns.

Walking was difficult. The sand on the dunes was incredibly thin and light, spinning and swirling with the slightest drafts. Making his way between the dunes and sinking from time to time into the heated sand, Max was hotter by the minute. The suns were strong. The young boy rapidly had a light headache, increasing as he walked past the dunes. In those times, humans were not used to receive unfiltered sunlight: the FuturaTech had it filtered by special products in the higher atmosphere on all planets. Max took his shirt off and wrapped it around his head to prevent the pain from worsening so that he could keep on walking. He was fighting against the impracticable ground and cursed Newt for landing him in the middle of nowhere instead of directly bringing him closer to the mountains.

[ ... ]

The elevator sank into the planet for nearly three minutes, digging always deeper into the ground. It finally slowed down to arrive at a complete stop. There was no noise anymore and the lift was not moving any more. However, the doors were not opening. Max worried it was actually a trap and not a real elevator and started examining the wall, searching for a way out or another button to activate. Suddenly, a decompression resonated in the machine and the doors finally opened onto a narrow and long dark corridor. He stepped out of the lift and moved forward in the hallway. After a few minutes, he arrived in a room that looked like a spherical observatory: the walls were completely glazed. However, the vista was jammed by metal blinds.

All of a sudden, a flash occurred, coming from behind him and Max discovered a man quite old, with grey hair. His face foretold he was rather slim under the scarlet gown he was wearing. He had no time to scrutinize further the man’s look as he started speaking to Max: “Good afternoon, Mister Weller. We’ve been expecting you.” His voice was reassuring and strangely calm.

“How… How do you know who I am? And…

  • Do not worry, Mister Weller. I will explain everything. Your arrival was detected by our security systems and we had confirmation from Newt that you are a friend of Valentia’s. He also transferred me an agreement to answer all of your questions. I mean, at least, all the questions I can answer.
  • Well, then first of all, who are you?
  • I am a member of a civilization you certainly never heard of. I am a descendant of the Survivors and I live on this planetary city built by the Alphas a thousand years ago.
  • Wait! There’s too much information there, I don’t understand anything… What did you survive? Which planetary city? And who are those Alphas you are talking about?
  • One question at a time, Mister Weller. Do not rush into it or you’ll get lost. The first inhabitants of this city were survivors from the beginning of the twenty-first century. They escaped the unofficial killing orders from the FuturaTech and they were gathered here secretly by the Alphas to create a human society independent from the FuturaTech and its influence.
  • So… You are like rebels?
  • No. Not at all. We would never attack the universal government. But I do agree that if they were to ever find us, they would not wait a minute before exterminating us like vermin. Anyway, we do not need them nor their resources and technologies. Our civilization is fully autonomous and our independence has preserved us from any risk to be detected by the authorities since the inception of our society.
  • How many are you exactly as of now?
  • Several dozen billions, all living on this planetary city.
  • But I didn’t see any living spaces on the planet when arriving from space, just a giant sand desert and rock mountains. There’s no water in the desert and the mountain chain isn’t spread enough to hide such a city in its heart. Where do you…?
  • You should never stop to what things look like, Mister Weller. I think it is time you have a look at our city with your own eyes to understand how all this is possible.”

With a gesture of the hand, the man opened the metal blinds, uncovering the full potential of the observatory. Through the windows, Max discovered the inside of the planet was actually hollow to hide the planetary city. It was spreading all around him under the planet’s crust. All the towers and skyscrapers were pointing towards the center of the planet where a great blue light was shining, taking the place of where usually is the planet’s core. Max could find no word to describe what he was looking at. He would have never thought to build such a kind of city and even the FuturaTech top engineers would have been amazed if they ever were to hear about it.

Next Chapter: Chapter 4 - “Pleasant view, don’t you think?”