Chapter 2- Sartren

Aiden was surprised to see long purple hair, attached to a very masculine face, and not a little beauty as seen in the books he read. The male had mocha eyes, which were hard to see as his pupils were very dilated. He was not insanely attractive but neither was he a complete troll in looks. From what he heard from the female trainees, he would be incredibly hot as an average joe but as a celebrity, he would be the chicken among the cranes. At this point, his abnormally pale skin made him look sickly- as if a strong wind could blow him over. After a beat, his white face slowly started to fill with colour, as he stared at Aiden who was getting worried by his stare and silence.

"Hello?" Aiden asks cautiously.

"You you...." the unknown man says.

"Me....?"

"You absolute imbecile! What possessed you to get on the actual racecourse, did you not get the notification on your com-link that we would be racing!"

"But I do-"

"And don't think that I did not see how you dove out of the way as though this were some kind of game of chicken! Or did you attempt suicide but lost your nerve because that would make a lot more sense than not immediately getting out of the way of a speeding car!"

"I-"

"Also-"

"Would you please let me speak! I have been trying to tell you that I don't know where I am, what I am doing here or even that I have no idea what a com-link is! So there was no message and I did not try to off myself!" Aiden finally exploded when it looked like the motor mouth was going to keep scolding him for nothing but his ignorance.

The man looked at the ranting Aiden with wide eyes, his mouth dropping as he heard Aiden say that he had no idea what a com-link was.

"Do I look like I was born yesterday?! How could you not know what a com-link is?! They are implanted at birth! Unless you grew up in some backwards area, but even that is doubtful as even the homeless have them, how else would people find out the latest news or prove their identity?"

"Look I don't know. I found myself in a clearing in the woods with no knowledge of how long I was there for, how I got there nor of anything but my name and that I am wearing clothes on my back. I just came here as it seemed close to a place where I could find help..."

The man's mind was blown as he heard Aiden spin his story.

'I can't say: hey weird future guy! I was in the office, went through a door and appeared here as if by magic, nice hover-car by the way, do you mind telling me the year and if there was an apocalypse that made humans leave earth' he thinks to himself 'by the way do you also go to other planets for vacation?..... I would be committed faster than I could finish rambling... Yh, it's better to keep this to myself and feign amnesia.'

"Hey, mate are you having a laugh? because that is so not funny" the purple-haired man said with a nervous chuckle.

"I'm afraid not."

The man looks at him again, as though to check the truthfulness of his statement, Aiden keeping a solemn face with all his acting skills, before nodding and gesturing for Aiden to come into the car. As he looks at the car he sees a panel or door open to reveal a very luxurious looking faux leather interior.

As he pretended that he knew nothing but his name, he asked what the gesture meant, thinking that some gestures from the future might have different connotations than in his time. So to prevent a blunder when following gestures or signals, he pretended to be clueless of the customs and world at large, though any slip-ups in proverbs/metaphors or otherwise could be blamed as unconscious use of language from the subconscious which contains his previous memories.

"My name is N'yall Moonstone, my name is an ancient Earth name, it's badass right? I heard that it was supposed to be a great honour to have such a name." N'yall boasts.

"Mine is Aiden Rayn Song. I don't know what kind of name it is, or where it's from, but I think it's also an ancient Earth name, as it sounds similar?..."

The car descends into silence as the air turns awkward. N'yall is looking a bit embarrassed, while Aiden is contemplative.

'What could have happened to Earth for it to be called Ancient? Or is it like when we say Ancient Rome or Ancient Egypt, where a lot of time has passed from there? But then, why Earth and not ancient England as the building style suggests?' He thinks to himself. His curiosity continues to grow, as he sits in silence, pulling up different scenarios that could be the cause.

Eventually, he asks N'yall: "where are we? And what is Ancient Earth?"

The sudden voice causes N'yall to jump in his seat, swivelling to look at the person he forgot was still in the car, he sighs as he looks at Aiden like an adult explaining to a child.

"Currently, we are on Sartren. It is like the second capital of the human race, where the more wealthy families live but without the politics usually prevalent in the capital. As for your question on Ancient Earth, that is a lot more complicated.

"Ancient Earth was the birthplace of the human race, it was also home to a lot of different animals which we have today. It was abandoned during the space era, when humans were leaving to colonise the rest of the galaxy, as more and more people left to stake a claim on more land as humans were overpopulating the planet. Many were excited with the thought of being able to have a garden or an outdoor swimming pool like in the old era, so when the opportunity presented itself, everyone jumped on it, even the wealthy families who had to pay enormous amounts of taxes to keep their properties untouched by the rapid expansion.

"However, a good number of the elderly did not want to leave the planet, so they stayed behind while the rest of the population spread out. What no one anticipated was that a crazy man stayed behind as well.

"He stayed behind and threatened to destroy Earth as he felt that we as a race were not respecting The Mother who gave us life, Earth. He held the elderly hostage and said that if humanity did not return to Earth then he would destroy her, as The Mother would prefer to die with her remaining children than to be thoroughly abandoned by the rest of her children.

At first, no one took him seriously as it was thought impossible to destroy the Earth, but..."

"He found a way?" Aiden asks.

"Yes, he did.

" He personally went into many private offices and labs, most were responsibly decommissioned to be relaunched on a different planet, but, some left behind their materials to be later set up on the new planet. He collected materials from there and other places, no one is sure where, but he created something similar to the atomic bomb, not as powerful but enough to damage a large city. Then he did something that truly shocked and horrified humanity.

"He went to the geothermal power stations, and he continued to dig. He didn't do it manually but through the use of drones and remote access tech he reached the crust. Not satisfied he kept it going till it was as close to the planet's core as possible then he sent the bomb there.

"It was catastrophic.

"The videos from that time show how the world exploded into magma, how the waters rose in enormous tsunamis and every natural disaster occurred at once. It was Armageddon. Everyone still on the planet died, and there are accounts from video calls to the old family members which showed that everyone died a horrific death. Even now, Ancient Earth is still uninhabitable, though once it is safe the officials and the various empires have declared it as a safe haven, where no war will touch it. In honour of the deceased, it could even be turned into a retirement home as well."

Aiden felt like his world was turned upside down, after learning the history of his home, he wanted to cry, but he knew that this was not the time. As he was about to ask another question, he heard N'yalls' voice say:

"We're here."