Chapter 1 - The Age of Decadence
"And this is where the Eden Service Assistance Protocol was originally signed." The tour guide speaking was a tall and beautiful woman with curly hazel hair. She looked no different than any other person around her. If it weren't for the fact that she spoke in a distinctive robotic voice, no one would be able to tell that she was an AI. "The establishment of Eden is an important milestone in the New Sidereal Century; its existence revolutionized human society and brought great changes to our daily lives."
Today's visitors were a group of 10-year-old students all dressed in uniform. A little boy raised his hand to speak and asked, "Like compulsory education, right?"
"That's correct, my dear." The tour guide nodded in agreement. As she raised her hand, the object behind the display glass disappeared and the lights in the room dimmed. One by one, realistic 3D holograms began to appear around the children. "It was only at the end of the Old Earth Century when humans began to develop a system of universal compulsory education.
Beginning at the age of six, children would receive at least ten years of foundational education in school, but this system soon became obsolete as mankind entered the Age of Galactical Exploration and began a second technological revolution. In order to compensate for the explosion of information technologies, compulsory education was forced to extend to 25 years.
According to extensive data left from this time, we know that only a very small percentage of elites were able to successfully complete the full course of new compulsory education while a vast majority struggled both academically and even mentally. Many of these people developed severe psychological illness and trauma that were uncurable with medical technologies back then; in more extreme cases there have been reports of suicide."
The students gasped in shock as they studied the 3D models around them, trying to understand how their ancestors were able to live in a world with these hellish conditions.
Every single one of these children had already completed their compulsory education.
The current education system under Eden prioritized common knowledge as citizens and basic mastery of all modern technologies to further their educational interests.
Children no longer needed to be closed up in a physical environment and forced to take classes; once a child turned 6 years old, Eden would systematically input and program all knowledge into their brains for one hour each month. The knowledge and information coded directly by Eden omits the process of understanding and will not be forgotten, so children now have more time to enjoy their childhood.
The full process takes 40 cycles, or a total of 40 hours to complete. At the end of the 40 hours, children are then invited to the Memorial Museum of Eden to take their final class and receive their graduation certificate.
The tour guide asked, "Are there any other comments?"
This time a little girl raised her hand. "Medical health! Mostly mental health! With the help of Eden, we are finally able to control our brains."
"That's correct." The tour guide smiled. "While the human brain is a work of wonder, it also has its flaws left by the natural process of evolution. Negative emotions such as anxiety and depression were common before Eden. According to the historical records, while humans were able to make progress in suppressing epidemics on a global scale by the end of the Old Earth Century, they were still unable to eradicate psychological illnesses. The high-pressure societal structure made it easy for people to develop mental disorders; a high percentage of illness was psychological, and as a result, indirectly helped develop many dangerous cultures and ideologies back then. Some historians refer to that period as the 'Age of Neuroterrorism' to signify a time where mankind became enslaved to their own heads."
The 3D surroundings of the room changed as the tour guide gave her speech. The children now found themselves on a deserted and narrow street; the ground was filled with trash and the walls were old and beaten up. A realistic hologram of dirty sewage water dripped by a female student's feet, which made her subconsciously call out to the robotic trash can beside her: "Can you please clean this up?"
The holographic screen messed with the system of the robotic trash can, which made it spin around in circles dumbly but didn't attempt to sweep the flooring.
"This is a world without Eden." The AI tour guide's voice broke the silence. "Deserted, cramped and lifeless; you cannot even communicate with public service robotics.
Unfortunately, a few of our friends are still in this kind of environment."
A few children whispered to each other. "Is it the Eighth Galaxy?"
"Yes." The AI appropriately put on a sympathetic expression and glanced at her little audience.
Her artificial eyes shone a bit, and her expression softened.
"The future is yours, my dear children." She said, "I hope that when you receive your graduation certificate today, you will be able to find your path for your life and make our world a better place. If you still have more questions, you may stay and ask. If you do not have any more questions, you may leave the room in an orderly fashion and pick up your graduation certificate by the exit of the exhibit. Congratulations once again!"
The 3D holograms disappeared into the light as the AI finished her speech, and the children found themselves back at the familiar lobby of the museum.
After waving his friends goodbye and watching everyone else leave, the first little boy that raised his hand walked up to the tour guide AI. The AI gave him a warm smile and leaned down.
"Do you have any more questions, my dear?" she asked kindly.
The little boy pulled up a tiny notebook on his personal device and asked in a serious manner, "Miss, I heard that a portion of Galactic Soldiers are required to block out Eden when they enlist...like the people on the Silver Fortress, is that true?"
"Yes, it is. These soldiers often need to travel far and into dangerous places in order to protect us. Many of these places are also not under the service network of Eden, so it's part of their training to get used to situations without Eden's protection, along with zero-gravity and physical training for military personnel." The AI answered patiently with a smile. "Do you want to join the Silver Fortress when you grow up, my little friend?"
"I do! My father is a retired Galactic Soldier." The little boy stood up proudly. "He said that the 'Silver Ten' of the 'Silver Fortress' is the strongest military unit, and Commander Lin is our ultimate guardian."
"This may not be entirely correct since we are not at war right now, so our ultimate guardian is Eden." The AI tour guide softly corrected the child as she ruffled his hair gently. "However, you can say that Commander Lin and his Silver Fortress are our armor; it is because of them that we are able to live peacefully today. Though the number of soldiers has been slowly declining in recent years, and the Silver Fortress is not an easy group to join, good luck little friend!"
A small blush surfaced on the boy's rosy cheeks as he nodded at the tour guide. He clenched his little fist and ran outside the museum as if he had a date awaiting him.
Every little boy had dreamed of becoming a hero once.
Yet the real adult 'heroes' are never busy saving the world; their real jobs are often playing political games, competing for power, manipulating enemies, blackmailing, and framing one another…
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March 6th, 270 NSC 1
The Interstellar Union ordered an emergency summons for Commander Lin Jingheng of the Silver Fortress to return immediately to the capital planet of Wolto. The official order called for a formal deposition on allegations for violation of military supply regulations, anti-humanitarian speech, and disobeying executive orders, among others.
Lin Jingheng staunchly refused to return.
The next day, the headline of the Wolto Daily boldly reflected the attitude of the IU council——"LIN JINGHENG, ARE YOU REVOLTING?"
March 24th, 270 NSC
The Silver Fortress was completely blocked. A fleet of approximately five hundred heavy mechs sent out by the Executive Council of the IU surrounded the fortress's artificial atmosphere. The Silver Ten fleet remained as a sturdy wall of defense for the Silver Fortress with their cannons all pointed towards the blockade outside. By the evening of March 26th, the hostile stalemate was already nearing its 48th-hour mark.
The Vice Admiral quietly set a glass of rum and ice on the Commander's desk.
The commander picked up the glass on his table and tossed a few more cubes of ice into it. The infamous Commander Lin was a tall and stringent man; from each strand of his hair down to his boot buckles, everything was well-kept and spotless like a textbook example of a disciplined, yet unapproachable soldier. A small hologram cloud covered his left ear, indicating he was communicating with someone.
Communication in this era is perhaps best described as what the ancients would call telepathy; messages are transferred directly through personal devices that read and decode brain waves sent and received by the individuals in communication.
Conversation happens completely within the mind, allowing for absolute secrecy of confidential information. Outsiders are only able to guess the nature of the conversation by reading the subtle expressions on the faces of the parties involved in telecommunication.
Not that Vice Admiral Lorde could tell who the commander was contacting; he could read nothing from Commander Lin's expressionless face.
Commander Lin's conservative demeanor and unsociable nature were a direct contrast to modern society's trend of openness and transparency, which made him a popular target for both gossip media and politicians to label as a sly and cold-hearted man.
The "sly" Commander finished his conversation, taking a few seconds to swallow the rum before turning to Lorde nonchalantly: "The Commander in Chief asked me to make a strategic compromise―― we're going back to Wolto."
Lorde stood dumbfounded.
"Strategic compromise." Commander Lin repeated the phrase with a sneer and turned on the news.
The attention of all of Wolto's press was held by the actions of Commander Lin and the Silver Fortress.
The newly appointed secretary-general was standing in front of the parliament of the capital planet, making a brief address to the press: "To me, Commander Lin is my schoolmate, my friend, and most of all, my family. I swear, on my career and my dignity, that Commander Lin is loyal to Wolto. He will never betray us, nor will he ever betray the Interstellar Union. The allegations about his crimes are all slander!"
Commander Lin was chewing an ice cube while listening to this passionate speech.
"Jingheng, please listen if you are watching." The secretary-general turned and looked deeply at the person behind the camera, "Do not let the false accusations disturb you. Do not let the misunderstandings grow into a conflict that will hurt your loved ones and empower your enemies. Please, come back! Jingshu and I are both waiting for you on Wolto. You still have family here, Jingheng!"
The camera slowly panned towards a woman standing beside the secretary-general. She wore entirely black, wore no makeup, and looked extremely pale. The only color on her face came from her black eyes and eyebrows. However, her natural beauty was still visible to anyone that laid eyes on her.
Lin Jingshu was Commander Lin's younger sister by blood and the woman that married the Union's most promising new politician last year.
Surrounded by bodyguards, Jingshu- now Mrs. Gordon -stood like a porcelain doll in the center.
Unmoved, Commander Lin turned to his Vice Admiral: "What do you think of this secretary-general?"
Lorde answered prudently. "He is really something."
"He is a character indeed. Not a bad man, but that was a bit awkward. Anyone that didn't know better would think that I have an affair with my brother-in-law." Lin Jingheng laughed and turned off the screen while he downed the remaining liquor in his glass. " Far too cheesy."
Lorde took the empty glass and lowered his voice. "Commander, you don't have to pay attention to what those people say. The Silver Ten are fully prepared and ready to battle. You just need to give us your order."
"To do what? Rebel against the IU?" Lin turned his gaze to the Vice-Admiral and added, "Did you graduate from the first military school?"
"Yes, Sir! I was from the 260th graduating class of the Black Orchid Academy!"
"How is your family? Do you have any sisters or brothers?"
Lorde was confused and didn't understand why the Commander was suddenly asking of such trivial manners during this state of emergency. Yet he decided not to question it and answered truthfully: "My father is in charge of a medical institution. My mother is a teacher at the Black Orchid Academy. I have an elder brother and a younger sister."
Lin Jingheng lifted a faint but bitter smile.
Ready to go into battle anytime...
This young man said it with such ease.
You're carrying a whole family behind you, who are you going to fight? We can point our cannons and missiles at Wolto, but are you just going to leave your family behind? What about your brother and sister?
The first military school was also known as the Black Orchid Academy. Though the Academy was known as an elite school, even among graduates only a very select few were able to make it into the Silver Fortress immediately after graduation.
In addition to the strict requirements of stellar grades, the futures of these graduates are often determined by their family's connections on the political stage. Many of them choose to use their influence at home to secure a high-ranking position close to their hometown. Therefore, as the main military base of the first galaxy, the Silver Fortress only accepted graduates from the first galaxy. What was more, most of them came from the upper class, including families of merchants, high-level intellectuals, celebrities, and even politicians.
This complicated the political environment of the Silver Fortress. There were two main factions: The first was a group of military elites under Lin Jingheng's direct command known collectively as the Silver Ten. Despite only making up one-tenth of the total population on the Silver Fortress, the Silver Ten were well-known throughout the eight galaxies for their tenacity as a military unit. There was a famous saying that the Silver Ten's unconventional military tactics made them no different than the space pirates they fought off; a battle between the two would be fighting poison with poison. Outside of work, however, they're an infamous bunch of hooligans and gangsters that lived up to their commander's reputation of being popular topics of celebrity gossip. A new headline about their feats appeared almost every day on the Wolto Daily.
The second faction was the remaining 90% of the Silver Fortress, who were all graduates of the Black Orchid Academy coming from various prominent families. Complicated family ties behind them wove a giant net to bind their loyalty, ensuring the political stability of the Silver Fortress.
Lin Jingheng waved to his Vice Admiral and gave an order: "Give me a suit. Send a message to customs on our way. Let them know I'll head back to Wolto tomorrow."
Lorde was shocked. "Commander..."
"The Commander in Chief told me to make a strategic compromise, what else do you want? All of the Silver Fortress——" Lin paused and turned his gaze out the window. Thousands of mechs had their cannons out pointing towards the blockade outside the artificial atmosphere. The warships glistened like a crowd of silverfish in the ocean, reflecting coldly in the Commander's grey eyes.
He took off his gloves and tossed them away. "Disarm immediately."
March 27th, 270 NCS.
Commander Lin completely disarmed the Silver Ten and took a civilian spaceship, Jingyuan, back to Wolto. Upon leaving, the immovable fleet of IU mechs outside the atmosphere watched in silence as their proclaimed enemy surrendered peacefully.
Fearing the commander still had cards up his sleeves, the Executive Council of the IU
demanded the Jingyuan spaceship remove all firearms and even the transmittal valve that allowed spaceships to enter transfer portals. Unable to rely on transfer portals on the journey, the spaceship was forced to manually pass through six custom checkpoints before reaching Wolto, with an estimated 10 days of travel time.
A few days after taking off, the Jingyuan spaceship encountered an asteroid rain within the Sima Plane region. The spaceship's itinerary was delayed, causing panic within the Council when they realized the spaceship had not yet arrived at the second customs checkpoint. After receiving countless Level-1 Warnings from the hysterics of the Council to return as soon as possible, the Jingyuan spaceship was forced to take a detour through the Heart of the
Rose——the only forbidden zone in the first galaxy which had never been explored by mankind.
April 1st, 270 NSC.
The Jingyuan starship was attacked by space pirates hidden at the periphery of the Heart of the Rose. The Jingyuan was destroyed, and Lin Jingheng was killed.
The entire capital planet fell into chaos at the shocking news. The Silver Ten rebelled, and the rest of the Silver Fortress became completely immobile from shock. Commander in Chief Woolf resigned furiously from the IU Council at the loss of his favorite subordinate. At the same time, the space pirates that were driven out of the eight galaxies by Commander Lin ten years ago returned, adding to the chaos by attacking a civil route in the sixth galaxy. The waves of assault by the space pirates caused countless deaths throughout the galaxies, and with the executive and legislative committees backlogged with this sudden burst of events, the death count quietly but steadily rose.
This series of events would later become known as the Silver Catastrophe.
Large demonstrations spread like a plague starting from the Sixth Galaxy all the way to the capital planet in the First Galaxy. Under civilian pressure and loud complaints regarding the sudden neglect of public safety, the government of Wolto was forced to change its ways. They started with settling the unrest within the Military and Executive Committees, then suppressed the media on news regarding allegations on the late Commander Lin. As if the world went through a phase of mass selective amnesia, all the press and media articles criticizing
Commander Lin Jingheng turned into praises and memoirs of his heroic deeds overnight. This 'sly' and 'cold-hearted' Commander suddenly became a hero of mankind, an embodiment of justice and glory.
Commander Lin's funeral was held on Wolto. The commander himself died in space, leaving no corpse or even a trace of personal items; a suit Lin never wore replaced him in the Cemetery of
Martyrs on Wolto. The ticket price for Commander Lin's funeral skyrocketed to the point that it won a place in the Guinness World Records for "The Most Expensive Funeral Invitation", ironically giving the late commander obituary fame.
Lin Jingshu wore a black veil on that day, greeting every celebrity that showed up at the funeral.
The famous beauty of Wolto still maintained her genuine demure and elegance even on such an occasion.
Anyone that came by would praise her beauty, but also note that she was unnaturally distant.
Jingshu noticed her husband Secretary-General Gordon walking over, and quietly stood beside him as she held onto his arms like a weak flower. She didn't speak but kept her eyes on him gently while listening to his emotional speech. Jingshu pulled out her silk handkerchief and occasionally gestured to wipe her tears, acting flawlessly along with her husband.
Reporters surrounded her with cameras for a short while before scattering in disinterest. Mrs. Gordon was exactly the same as she was at a fancy fair in opposition to disposing of pets' bodies into outer space. Aside from the difference in clothing, they could almost use the same picture for both occasions.
Jingshu sat still even after the reporters left.
She was like the most beautiful flower blooming in solidarity. Regardless of whether or not there was an audience, she would stand by and let the wind take her.
The beautiful flower smiled in tears. So stunning was she that the light of humanity seemed to shine upon her comely features. She watched Gordon choking on his tears as he spoke on stage and thought: "A life for a life, you will repay with death."
Over 200 years of peace and prosperity had passed since the start of the New Sidereal Era. Yet unbeknownst to most, a grim force under the surface of this harmonious society is slowly chipping away this utopian facade…
1:New Sidereal Calendar