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The middle-aged man sighed. It was tough for him as well. He was tasked to take care of the victims of the incident. How hard was it to tell them that everyone died? How hard was it to tell them that they needed to shut up for the government? It was harshly hard. And every case had its difficulties. This one was one of the toughest. An underaged orphan from a different home planet… A good kid that was working hard at school and outside according to the records.

And now, look at him. He had lost an arm and it had been replaced by a mech prosthetic. He was bald due to receiving head injuries. He had scars all over his body and a few burn marks.

Hair would grow back and there were ways to completely heal the scars nowadays through chirurgical procedures as long as one had money. But his arm would never be back and he would never forget what happened either. Still, right now, it seemed like it had yet to sink in. But he had a job to do, papers that needed him to sign.

He sighed once more and spoke to the kid with a blank look…

Ron heard the man loud and clear but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. He stared at him blankly. The man spoke once more: "As you know, you were in quite a bad state when you were found. They had to act fast. Under the Emperor benevolent orders, all medical fees were paid by the government, even that new mech arm of yours. It's not state-of-art but it's not bottom-rank either, it's quite a good piece. There is, of course, nothing to be happy about but that's that, I guess… It should be working just like a real arm. I don't know myself but some friends told me it would only need some time for you to get used to it"

Ron expressionlessly and silently moved his new mechanical arm up and down. It had the same form as a real arm but was obviously not. For one thing, it was silver in color and one look spoke for itself. It seemed heavy at a glance yet he could lift it effortlessly. He could feel things just like with his other arm, his biological one. Yet, there was a weird sense of alienness coming from it. As the man said, it would likely take time.

The man sighed again. Ron wondered why. Then, the man spoke once more: "I hate that I have to do this but please hear me out. It's about your future"

Ron looked straight at him, still with a blank look. The man continued: "The government is giving you two choices. The first one is to become citizen of our planet officially. The Emperor himself ordered the government to give this opportunity to those in your case. From there, as you are an orphan, you will be given an allocation every month that should be enough for you to live off of along with a frat to live in until you finish your studies. Those studies that would take place in the top university of our planet capital city, all paid for by the government. This is a special treatment offered to you as part of the survivor program"

Ron glanced at the man but remained unmoved. Citizenship? Studies? How could someone talk about those things in this situation? He was appalled. He didn't have the heart for this kind of bullshit right now.

Yet the man continued: "The second option is for you to be sent back to Telmum with all records pertaining to Ron Morgensen being erased"

Ron snickered. Then, he spoke for the first time since waking up to this horrible reality: "What do you think I would choose?"

The man sighed again. He was doing it a lot these days. He took out some documents from his briefcase and gave them to Ron alongside a pen. Then, he said: "You just need to sign those documents. Then, the government will grant you citizenship, a new home, an allocation and a new school"

Ron had learnt from one of his teachers to always carefully read everything he was given before giving his approval. There were shrewd individuals in the world. It turned out the man next to him was of this kind. There were some things in this contract he didn't mention.

Ron asked him: "When did you plan to mention that I would have to agree to become a soldier after graduating?"

The man remained silent.

He spoke again only after a few seconds: "It can't be helped. Your situation is too unique. The people want the government to help the survivors yet, at the same time, they fear the immigrants. You are an underaged youth, many would want you to be helped decently. But you are also an immigrant and some wouldn't want you here. If you signed this, it would prove that you are dedicated to our planet, to humanity. There would no longer be anyone who could oppose us helping you"

Ron snickered. If he signed this, he would have to go to war. War against aliens he never met. He would need to fight to kill strangers. He would risk being killed by strangers. He didn't want to sign this. Even if he was sent back to Telmum, he still had his money earned from working as an engineer. He could always start again.

Or so he believed. Until the man said: "I'm sorry to have to say this in this situation but please, realize that you only have two options. And there is only one in which Ron Morgensen exists"

If Ron Morgensen didn't exist, who would he be? What would he have left? Nothing. The money and status belonged to his identity, to Ron Morgensen.

With a grave look, he signed the papers and threw them at the middle-aged man. The man grabbed them and gently stored them in his briefcase before getting up to leave. As he did, he spoke: "As an officer, I thank you for your decision. As a human, I am deeply sorry and ashamed about what I made you go through"

The man then left Ron alone.

Tears were flowing down his cheeks.