1 Prologue - I

"Men huddle up!" A loud, deep voice reverberated on a raised platform as a bearded man equipped in a white spacesuit stood. At his left shoulder is a badge with 10 stars around a circle. In his chest is a silver emblem arrowhead with a curving tail. Below it reads "Path Forwards Co." In his helmet is a red stripe with the words written as "Captain".

At his beck and call, four men dressed in an olive green uniform with the same emblem on the left side of the chest. The two women, wearing a navy blue suit and the same logo as the rest. In their helmet follows the colour spectrum from orange to purple with their aliases written.

In their eyes, a spark of excitement is visible.

"Millions of years ago, humanity was forced to form groups to survive. Unlike the other animals that existed, humanity did not have any kind of special mutations that boosted our survivability."

"But then, this lack of surviving mechanism forced us into a corner to make our own customized tools. And then, there it was, a dagger. Carved from stones, it became humanity's first weapon."

"With this weapon, we were able to hunt beasts much stronger than ourselves. And yet that didn't mean that we were safe. It became cold, unbearably so. And then once again, as if the universe wants to help us. A bolt of lightning struck a tree. It was the very first moment that humans found a way to survive. There was fire, there was light, and there was heat."

"With the help of our tools and fire, we began to conquer the planet. No beast was too strong. No calamity too deadly. Human's adaptability conquered all."

"Using tools as a foundation, we built societies. Societies built kingdoms, kingdoms grew larger into empires, and once everything is connected, we evolved. Here came human civilization."

"Whether our goal was to survive, to conquer, or to kill, humanity's progress did not falter. Stones turned to bronze. Bronze turned to iron, and iron turned to steel."

"And then we finally stepped out of our home, the Earth, to visit our neighbour, the moon."

"Just as Mr Armstrong once beautifully said, one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

The man paused to look around and saw the smiling faces of his listeners.

"And with that, we finally utilized the strongest tool of all. Knowledge."

"Information became accessible, computations were processed in mere milliseconds, and with that, humanity's intelligence grew.

"However, with every step. Humanity had to pay the price. A cost that is so cheap yet so expensive at the same time, energy."

"Building our very first tool it only required our energy. Learning about the fire, it needed the electrical energy birthed by our Earth."

"We paid for the knowledge we had with energy. So we have to harness it by all means necessary. Utilizing our planet, according to Mr Kardashev, we turned into a type-1 civilization."

"Hundreds of years later, and we finally were able to utilize the sun and its entire system. From one small step, we were finally able to zip through the cosmos and turned into a type-2 civilization."

"Now, after a hundred thousands of years. We finally reach this new peak. Right outside this station, folks, is a motherfucking black hole."

"With the preliminary success of the Black Reflector tech, we finally reached this stage. Right in front of us, my friends is the door to becoming a type-3 civilization."

"In this universe, we might not be alone. But at this peak, we shall be. And that is something to be proud of."

"After years and years of tolling out here in space. Our families have aged and died, yet here we are. So young and full of vigour. We sacrificed our time with our families to pave the way for a new future."

"Yet with all that, I believe that none of us here regrets it. Am I right?"

"Yeah!" The entire crew shouted together as they break into laughter.

"If this black hole is the keyhole, the black reflector is the key. It is now time for us to turn the key and open the door."

"Are you all ready?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the crew answered.

"People, to your stations!" The man shouted.

Full of vitality, the entire crew went out of the mess hall and into the cockpit. There they began to sit in front of their consoles as they look onwards towards the darkness that opens up the path to a bright tomorrow.