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The morning sun filtered through the translucent blinds as I settled onto the plush sofa, Terminal in hand. I immediately dived into what I planned for the day.The Hue Network’s registration page hovered before me, its interface sleek and minimalist—a swirling nebula of blue and gold with a prompt blinking: Create Your Identity.
Username:Ancient. The letters glowed faintly, after all, I was from over 1000 years ago, if I wasn't ancient the what was I?. For the profile picture, I skipped uploading a photo. Instead, I sketched a simple holographic emblem: a pale blue circle representing Earth, a stark question mark etched at its center. A riddle wrapped in a mystery I wanted to unravel.
The network’s privacy policies scrolled past—encrypted neural links, biometric verification, zero data retention. Reviews praised its security, but I knew better. In a world where the Federation controlled everything, true anonymity was an illusion. Still, I clicked Confirm, and my account flickered to life.
@Ancient_01
Bio: The Earth is vast.
Next, I navigated to the marketplace, a labyrinth of holographic storefronts. Typing "History textbooks—Aetheris curriculum” into the search bar, I was flooded with options. Titles like 'The Veil’s Genesis' and 'Pre-Federation Aetheris' dominated the results. I selected twenty volumes, from beginner to advanced, and paid with a fingerprint scan. A notification chimed:
Delivery estimated: 12 minutes. I was surprised at the efficiency even with Aetheris' development.
With time to kill, I accessed the combat training archives per Povi's instructions by connecting my terminal to the Simulator, just like pairing interferences.The combat simulator’s interface materialized—a floating grid of completed levels, each marked with Zahara’s initials, this was Zahara's performance and all completed levels were open for view. I curiously selected Level 1, and a holographic replay bloomed to life.
Level 1: Endurance Run
Zahara sprinted across a desert of shimmering black sand, her breaths synced to a pulsing metronome in her ear. The sky burned violet, twin suns scorching the dunes. A timer glowed: 29:58. Her muscles trembled, sweat evaporating before it could drip. At 30:00 exactly, she collapsed, gasping, as the simulation dissolved.
Verdict:Stamina sufficient. Proceed.
Level 2: Toxic Gauntlet
A jungle materialized, thick with bioluminescent vines and neon-pink fog. Zahara darted between crumbling stone pillars, her boots skidding on moss. Yellow gas hissed from vents—neurotoxin. She teleported in rapid bursts, phasing through obstacles. The exit door sealed shut just as she lunged through, coughing.
Verdict:Speed: Excellent. Toxin exposure: 0%. Proceed.
Level 3: Fear Chamber
Darkness. Then—a child’s laughter. Young Zahara stood in a replica of her bedroom, walls bleeding black ooze. Mirrors cracked, reflecting her mother’s corpse. She screamed, clawing at the glass. On her third attempt, she shattered the illusion with a Voidsphere, panting.
Verdict:Psychological resilience: Marginal. Proceed.
Level 4: Hostile Extraction
Urban warfare. Zahara crouched behind a smoldering hovercar, a wounded soldier thrusting a vaccine vial into her hands. “Go!” Gunfire erupted. She teleported vertically—up a skyscraper, across rooftops—dodging plasma fire. A sniper’s shot grazed her shoulder, but she hurled the vial into a med-drone’s hatch.
Verdict:Objective secured. Proceed.
Level 5: Moral Abyss
A warehouse. A girl dangled from a chain, sobbing. Her captor sneered: “Join us or watch her die.” Zahara’s face hardened. Her Luminarc Gauntlet flashed—a beam speared both captor and child. The screen faded to static.
Verdict:Threat neutralized. Proceed.
Level 6: Inferno Escape
Fire roared through a collapsing mall. Zahara sprinted past melting holograms, heat searing her skin. She slapped a Voidsphere onto a glass ceiling, detonating it. As the structure imploded, she leaped into a maintenance chute, riding a gust of supercooled air to safety.
Verdict:Resourcefulness: Exceptional. Proceed.
Level 7: Loyalty
The simulation flickered to life, plunging Zahara into a certain outpost under siege. Smoke choked the air as alarms wailed, crimson emergency lights staining the corridors. Three hostages awaited rescue: one trapped in a collapsing lab under a hail of glass shards, another held at gunpoint in a claustrophobic ventilation shaft, and a third strapped to a chair rigged to detonate. Zahara’s neural chip buzzed with teleportation limits—overuse risked system lag—while assilants' traps lurked. Midway, a rebel revealed the third hostage was a double agent: saving them doomed the facility, killing them defied orders. Zahara teleported past debris to the core chamber, where the agent sneered, “The Federation abandoned you too.” Hesitating only a moment, she detonated a Voidsphere in the ventilation shaft, crushing the rebel and hostage inside. She saved the first scientist but let the core explode, debris swallowing the lab.
Verdict: Asset recovery incomplete. Loyalty prioritized. Proceed.
Clearly this was Indoctrination wasn't it? I thought as I proceeded to observe the next level.
Level 8: Wolf’s Lair.
The desert simulation from my first day. Zahara faced two cyber-wolves, their eyes glowing red. She teleported behind them, plasma dagger slashing. One wolf dissolved into code; the other lunged. She phased through its jaws, stabbing its thigh but it manage to jump up high and bite down in her, she immediately teleported and exited the game.
Level 8 Combat mastery: Pending. Excell to proceed to level 9.
I exhaled, my breath hitching, this was more than training wasn't it? Even if the shadow syndicate was Brutual, did it really need all this hard work? What were they capable of ?
Curiosity gnawed at me. I typed “Shadow Syndicate attack footage” into the Hue Network. A video titled Region A Bridge Massacre auto-played.
The bridge was a marvel of Aetheris engineering—arcs of crystalline alloy spanning a turquoise river. Civilians strolled, oblivious, until two figures in red armor materialized. Their masks were void-black, featureless save for a pulsing sigil: a serpent devouring a star.
“The Federation claims to love the people! This is laughable! You fools! you think this is all it is to life!" One of the men sarcastically screamed.
He dragged a man forward—late 40s, I estimated but I couldn't be sure, well-dressed, gagged. The crowd froze.
“This one funded their lies. Let his death be a lesson.” He added.
A Luminarc Gauntlet pressed to the man’s temple. A flash—blue plasma erupted, cauterizing bone. The body crumpled. Screams erupted as the Syndicate vanished in a swarm of nanites, leaving only a holographic message: “Break out of the illusion.”
A chill run down my back, it seemed this group was no joke. I immediately scrolled down to read the interactions on the video.
- @AetherisPatriot: “Animals! Hunt them down!”
- @VeilBreaker: “FINALLY someone exposes the Federation!”
- @Screaminghigh: "Can the federation do something about people who comment nonsense like the above person? Seriously what is wrong with these air heads? a man just lost his life!"
- @TruthHertz: " Syndicate heroes! WAKE UP SHEEP!”
A soft hum echoed through the room startling me from the comments.
Near the doorway, a hexagonal panel on the floor lit up, its surface rippling like liquid mercury. The panel slid downward, revealing a cylindrical chamber bathed in blue light. My package—a metallic crate stamped Historical Archives—descended on a anti-grav platform, particles shimmering around it.
I was slightly startled "This..." I questioned, mesmerized at the sight.
“The Delivery System," Povi's voice rung out.
The crate then solidified, and the panel resealed seamlessly.
Inside, the textbooks were neatly arranged: leather-bound, pages edged in gold, holograms dancing in the margins. "Pre-Federation Aetheris" depicted lush jungles and sprawling cities. I wouldn't get dorsey or bored reading this that was for sure. I proceeded to examine other books such as “Unity through generations”, 'The Veil’s Genesis' etc.
I didn't waste time as I immediately immersed myself into reading the basics and enriching myself with the required knowledge of this place. When it was midday, I made myself a little lunch, well I placed my order in the service machine, anyway, I had lunch and continued reading. I changed spots and sat at the balcony, the flowers in a distance were really nice and so was the weather, if this was really Uganda as I suspected, at least I was sure that the weather was the best.
The Veil’s blue flash lit up the evening, this matter of fact meant the end of the day. Looking down, I had finished one book that gave a brief overview of this place. I marked the page and slowly looked up, the veil blended well with the atmosphere, I couldn't see it's boundary at all.
I simply couldn't trust this history book that explained the veil being a natural fenomenom. Understanding this place simply gave me headache! I sighed with frustration as I picked up the book, entering the house.
21Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm5QKmYip1d
