The hierarchy

Oliver gazed emptily at the supposed Cosmo_Craft image drawn on the board. Being a space ranger had always been his dream, but the older he got, the better he could clearly understand how impossible it was, and how little his chances were. He also realized that it was high time he dreamt a little lower.

The reason for the sudden dwindling of passion and optimism he had when he was yet younger, was because of the class system employed by the world government on the allocation of abilities.

The celestials forged seven ability books called- Pure Mother Books. The mother books were the primal genesis of all other ability books, and It was through the seven of them that the others were formed.

Ability books were systematically ranked according to the strengths of the abilities they bore, and also by their weaknesses and limitations. High government officials kept the higher-level abilities to themselves alone, restricting lower-class individuals from accessing them. They claimed that their intentions for limiting easy access to higher-level abilities were to reduce the misuse of powers and to ensure the scarcity of destructive ones. The claims by the government to the undesirable limited access of the lower citizens to higher level abilities were a bit genuine, nevertheless, it was obvious that there was a grand plot and conspiracy in progress.

Ability books were so scarce and difficult to afford by the less privileged and most regular people like the family that Oliver was brought up. They were mostly accessed by the wealthy and well-to-do people of the global society.

A system was made to classify people according to their differences in wealth, fame, and useful contributions to the earth. It was mostly crafted for the purpose of deciding on the pattern of distributing the ability books. In this hierarchy, people were categorized in ranks, from the highest to the lowest.

The people at the highest level were a particular group of individuals called the members of the supreme. This level consists of the most potential and wealthy people on the earth. It comprised several prestigious world leaders, in charge of salient sectors, such as; economics, military, science, mining, and agriculture.

Members of the supreme were able to access an ability book of power level, within the range of 61 and 80; these were the highest of ability books. They were also privileged to pass on their ability books to a maximum of ten generations of offspring after them.

Next after the members of the supreme was another group on the second level, called the Elites. The Elites consisted of second-class potential and an important set of individuals, highly productive and contributive to the global society. They comprised the most intelligent and famous scientists, well known for their extraordinary inventions, their achievements, and all of their contributions to the benefit and survival of the human race. Members of the Elites also included the S.R.I, with other top institutes and organizations.

Following the well-drafted systematic procedure, the Elites were granted access to high-ability books from the power level of 51-60. Unlike those of the higher ability books used by the Supremes, the ones affordable to the Elites only permitted inheritance at a more limited amount of time, from the 1st-7th generation of offspring to come.

The Elites were second in line, in the hierarchy, but right underneath them was another category of people, called the Lords. These individuals consisted of all the successful billionaires and trillionaires on the planet, massively pulling the strings in each of their respective areas. The Lords were extremely rich, they could simply purchase high-ability books from the government, for insurance reasons, and extra security.

Although the Lords were extremely rich individuals who seemed to have the capability to afford whatever they wanted, there was yet a limit to the abilities they could access, and the government strictly made sure of that. The Lords could afford ability books from 41-50, and the books could only be passed on to their 4th generation. From the 5th and above, the abilities in the books would be made so difficult to access.

Next after the House of Lords, was a small but special group of individuals, called the Nobles, though they preferred to be referred to by the name, Originals.

The originals were mighty warrior tribes who battled so bravely and strongly during the harsh war, even before the introduction of the demon abilities. They strictly relied on medieval weaponry and their historical relics. They made use of weapons like swords, axes, bows and arrows, spears, and so many others. They could also conjure and wield mystical weapons and amours. They relied so much on their outstanding combat skills, and their lethal weapons, that they purposely refused the demon abilities which others so much desired. They are considered a form of corruption to the human race and a weakness in disguise.

The Originals were renowned for their inexplicable commitment to keeping their sacred doctrines, which avoiding ability books were a part of. This mode of orderliness and oneness was what made them recognized as the most powerful and feared throughout history. A true Original would rather take his/her own life than tamper with demon abilities. They even turned down multiple times, offers made by the government, to freely grant them ability books of high power levels. They considered it hypocritical to make use of similar abilities with humanity's greatest foe, who enslaved and put them in bondage for so many years.

Originals preferred shutting off themselves from the modernized world. They preferred residing in remote areas, the countryside, and any suitable place of residence where advancement in technology was less. They were mostly found in parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe. Wherever they went, they maintained the spirit of unity, as they did most things in common, having one mind.

Next after the Originals, was another category of people called the commons. These were the average individuals but were still referred to as among the lower class. They included miniature government workers who were occasionally on support with welfare supplies and allowances for upkeep. These salary earners hardly could afford the ability books. Even the very few who had the ability books, either inherited them or managed to purchase the very low ones of about 1-40 power levels, using hard-earned life savings.

Life was so hard and miserable for people this low. It was a pity they had no special dreams or ambitions, other than spending the rest of their lives in self-pity, constantly settling for less, and indirectly being slaves to those above them.

To many, life was just normal and manageable the way it was, but to a few others who desired more, life was so unfair and unfulfilled. The family that Oliver was from was actually among the Commoners group in the status hierarchy, almost the least. His late mother, Mrs Beth, worked as a receptionist for some exotic hotel, while his father, Mr Samuel, was the lab assistant of a junior scientist, at the Matrix Infinix labs. Both their salaries combined couldn't even afford to buy the cheapest ability books.

This harsh reality affected Oliver so much because bearing an ability book was among the primary qualifications for becoming a space ranger. Not even any regular ability book, but one among the higher level. Oliver didn't even have the least ability book, not to mention the highly complex ones, adorable by Elites. And as far as he could remember, neither of his parents ever had any of the ability books.

Oliver took a quick glance around the classroom. The teacher was still there in front of the class, with a deliberate expression on her face, as she was demonstrating immensely, with arms splayed apart.

"And then, the spaceship would be able to mutate the engine power source, regenerating it using the reservoir, in the form of a blue crystal in the power core..." explained the teacher, sounding with exuberance.

Oliver realized now, that he had not been concentrating on the lesson. He had never been in such a situation as the one he was in now, a situation where he was completely lost. He had no idea what the teacher was explaining, and he hated it.

He could observe Olivia from the first row, standing up at intervals, to ask and answer questions. And with the never-ending smile on the teacher's face, she was impressed, just like Olivia was swelled with pride like she was going to burst.

At this point, Oliver was not even thinking straight. He had a lot on his mind. He was worrying about Jasper, and the spooky message from the snake last night. He was also thinking about ability books, they were the very things he had never stopped thinking of. Though he knew his parents never got one, he felt there might be a chance that he still could get one for himself. There was still a bit of hope in the lad.