ZirGOOD

Reborn in 2022

I died full of ideas... but without time to make them a reality.

Now I'm back. 2022, Mexico. Back in my university body, with everything ahead of me and everything I learned in my other life: the rise of digital commerce, cryptocurrencies, artificial intelligence... and the mistakes I won't make again.

No one knows I'm from the future. This second time around, my goal is clear: to become a mogul, from the public university classroom to the skyscrapers of Mexico City.

With a little vision, a little technology—and an artificial intelligence I brought with me—I'm going to seize every opportunity before the world even knows it exists.

Because this time, I'm not here to survive. I'm here to win.

Second Attempt: From UNAM to the Empire

Mexico City, National Autonomous University of Mexico — Faculty of Engineering

The sun was slowly setting over the University Campus, dyeing the walls of the Central Library in shades of orange and gold. Students were walking home, others were eating, sitting on the grass or on benches in front of the Engineering annex. In the distance, a cart was selling tamale sandwiches and cheap coffee.

Rodrigo Velázquez opened his eyes, confused.

He was sweating, but not from the heat. His heart was beating as if he'd run from the Faculty of Medicine to Philosophy. Beside him, a bitten sandwich and a bottle of Boeing. In front of him, the Library's mural seemed to look back at him with more life than usual.

He clearly remembered his death: in orbit around Titan, 2049. The failure of the life-support system. His consciousness collapsing... and then a white light.

To UNAM. To his body in 2022. Twenty years old. Just before starting the fifth semester of Engineering.

"It can't be..." he whispered, bringing his hands to his face.

A soft, metallic, and completely familiar female voice responded inside his mind:

Unscheduled consciousness transfer detected. Proceeding with delivery of the Multiversal Reward Package.

Rodrigo froze. Then, before his mental eyes, an infinite white space opened. In the middle, a golden box floated, tied with a blue ribbon that glowed like contained plasma.

Attention, User 01: You have received the Multiversal Travel Gift Package. Contains random rewards from advanced civilizations. The package will self-destruct in 72 hours if left unopened.

The box slowly unwound, releasing an intense light. A crystal-clear female voice echoed in his mind:

Congratulations, Time Traveler! You have obtained a level SSSSS reward.

First reward: Complete knowledge of Forerunner technologies, including exclusive access to the Precursor Quantum Library and quantum leap protocols.

Second reward: Highly compatible assistant AI: Eidolon activated.

The voice paused. The light spun, and a holographic image appeared in Rodrigo's mindspace: a colossal ring floating in the void of space, its surface covered by oceans, mountains, and invisible cities.

...the facility known as The Ark has been bound exclusively to you.

Location: Exiled outside the galactic plane. Capacity: 250,000 kilometers in diameter. Status: Operational. Remote access enabled.

Rodrigo gasped. He recognized that ring. He'd seen it in documentaries, in animations, in theories. In fiction.

"It can't be... this... this is real."

Confirmed. You are now the Ring Overseer. You can summon limited remote access from anywhere on the planet. Full control available from a physical interface within the Ark.

Suggestion: Establish a secure base of operations on Earth before activating the open connection to the Ring. Priority: Stay undetected.

Rodrigo gulped. From napping with his cake, he was now the custodian of a superstructure of alien technology. And he was sitting in front of the UNAM Central Library.

Initiate base. Viable resource detected: closed lab in Building A, High Frequency basement." No cameras. No active records. Access available.

It was 2022. He had all the knowledge of the future, a custom AI… and the Halo Ark in his possession.

This time, he wasn't going to waste his life surviving.

He was going to build an empire. From C.U., calmly. And with power.

Chapter 1: Awakening in C.U.