A Few Hours Ago On Earth

A few hours ago on Earth, Sylus was sleeping soundly when his phone buzzed with an incoming call from Samuel.

This was the sixth time Samuel had called in the last four minutes. On the seventh call Sylus finally woke up. His dark brown hair was tousled from sleep and his eyes were heavy with exhaustion.

He blinked slowly, trying to clear the fog from his mind. His skin was smooth and pale contrasting with the dark shadows under his eyes, showing how deeply he had been sleeping.

His broad shoulders slumped as he sat up in bed wearing a loose white t-shirt and grey sweatpants, both wrinkled from sleep.

He picked up the phone and put it to his ear. "Finally, you picked my call!" Samuel's voice was loud and urgent, pulling Sylus further from his sleep. Sylus frowned and asked Sameul "What happened?"

Samuel's voice was sharp. "Turn on the news, quickly!"

Sylus slowly got out of bed, his feet sinking into the plush carpet. His body moved sluggishly as if the weight of sleep was still pulling him back.

His house was lavish with tall windows that let in soft morning light, casting a glow on the expensive furniture. The floors were polished marble and the walls were adorned with modern art pieces.

As he walked through the hallway his steps were slow like almost dragging. His eyes were still half-closed as he made his way to the living room where a large flat-screen TV dominated one wall.

He started looking for the remote with his lazy and unhurried movements. After a few moments of searching he found it buried under a cushion on the sofa.

He turned on the TV, not really interested in what he was about to see. But as the news came on his sleepy eyes suddenly widened in shock.

The screen displayed a breaking news banner and the reporter was talking about his family.

"This is Channel One News, bringing you a special report. The world's largest Software company, Nexus Interactive, has just released their latest game, Celestial Conquest," the reporter said.

"This game has taken the world by storm, capturing millions of hearts on its very first day of release. Celestial Conquest was developed by Marcus Lane with the help of his son Zayn Lane who is currently studying software engineering."

Sylus's heart skipped a beat as he listened. His father's company. His father's game. How could this be?

"The company was originally founded by Marcus's brother, Adam Lane, after Adam and his wife tragically passed away in a car accident five years ago," the reporter continued.

"Since then Marcus has successfully run the company and now with the release of Celestial Conquest, the company is topping charts worldwide with millions of downloads within the first 24 hours."

Sylus was deep in thought his mind was racing. His father had spent years developing Celestial Conquest before his untimely death.

How could his uncle Marcus claim the credit? Before he could think further Samuel's voice rang out from the phone again.

"SYLUS! Are you still alive?"

Sylus snapped out of his thoughts and replied to Samuel "What is going on here? This game...Celestial Conquest...it was developed by my dad. I remember it clearly. My dad spent so many years on this game. How can Uncle Marcus take credit for it? This isn't right. I need to ask Uncle Marcus what's going on."

Determined, Sylus hung up the phone and got dressed quickly. He threw on a black t-shirt and jeans, running his hands through his messy hair as he headed out the door.

His car was parked outside, a sleek black sports car that reflected his family's wealth. He drove quickly to his uncle's mansion, his mind buzzing with questions.

When he arrived the maid greeted him at the door. "Mr. Marcus and Zayn are not home right now. They've gone for an interview and should be back soon."

Sylus nodded and said "I'll wait for them."

As he waited, he decided to go upstairs to Zayn's room. Zayn was three years older than Sylus and they had never gotten along.