Prologue

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"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page," –St. Augustine

Year 2125. 7:00 PM. A City.

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Within the bustling metro, the city lights sparkled amongst the smog after a heavy rain.

This cityscape was livelier than the dulled starless sky.

As flying aero vehicles and citizens geared with Mira Safety CM-90M gas masks and anti-gravity solar boots floated above the ground, dust particles could also be seen moving about.

The pollution was really beyond control.

Even when A City was the world's most technologically-advanced and richest region, there was no escape from the truth–

This world was dying.

At a rapid speed.

The planet has been abused for thousands of years and the current generation reaped what their predecessors sowed.

Ten decades ago, a devastating pandemic disease caused by an incurable virus awoke from dormancy when the glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica melted to the ground.

The said virus wiped nearly all life forms on the face of the planet.

Flora. Fauna. Even humans.

Most of the Earth was inhabitable.

About every place on earth were dried waters, submerged cities, dead livestock, withered farms and forests, radioactive environment from residual nuclear wars and experiments, contaminated or carbon dioxide poisoned air and barren soil.

However, the worst among all these crises remained to be the deadly virus which still existed today.

This virus had no known cure whilst the years of eager researches proved to be futile.

Perhaps it was because of the failed nature campaigns or the abusive country industrializations that the Earth had resulted into what it was today.

It was a little too late before humans started to take counter measures seriously and attempted to reverse the global crises.

Maybe this was the payback time for everything the humans did.

It was an inevitable revenge or karma which was undeniably well-deserved by the humans.

It was the age when nature struck back.

As the crises prevailed, the survivors were gathered by the living world leaders and together built one nation in a renamed country known as Gaea, where all nationalities and races coexisted in peace amidst the chaos beyond the nation's towering walls.

With hopes of restoring mankind, the world leaders developed a government which was acceptable to the new nation.

A new unifying currency, gil, was imposed and the last habitable land on earth was seized.

Gaea's new cities and regions were established and named as alphabets.

Regrettably, absolute power corrupted even those who had the best intentions.

Gaea's government was no exemption from this.

The government turned greedy of the scarce resources and became ruthless with its rules.

They sought power, richness and other worldly desires such as being famous and celebrated modern heroes.

The people were forced to vow loyalty to Gaea.

Those who rebelled were cast away from the walled nation and the fully-pledged had their wrists implanted with integrated circuits.

Yoctochips were highest quality chips containing all the records of a citizen's important identification and property details.

Gaea's citizens were now called Terran and though many still used their mother tongue, most could communicate in the widely spoken English.

Since there were limited resources and food supply, the government imposed stricter laws and policies on the citizens.

Terran families were ranked into social classes through points determined by skills, talents, assets, liabilities and possessions.

The social class system determined what privileges, opportunities and resources one may receive.

The highest class was called Vieux, consisted of those who had major contributions to Gaea or were officials in the government.

They could enjoy luxurious food, clothes and were even allowed to have houses and lands of their own. Just like monarchs did thousand years ago.

The middle class were known as Nouveau who were those who had stable jobs and were able to secure some sort of important resource to provide to the city councils.

Though they weren't allowed to purchase land and houses, they could at least afford good food, clothes and rent comfortable homes from the vieux.

The poorer classes were divided into two.

Those who were dirt poor however had elevated their bloodline status by securing regular and common jobs were known as Pauvre.

Meanwhile those who could not find an opportunity to raise their status were known as Charognard, the derogatory term they used to label the poorest among the Terrans.

This cruel social class system drove a bigger gap between the rich and the poor.

There existed only one legal escape from this deprived life which the struggling Terrans had to endure.

For both the charognard and the pauvre, there was no greater blessing than to give birth to a gifted child to raise their bloodline's status and save them from their impoverished lives.

In the current world, there was a tremendous need to solve the worsening predicaments to sustain lives.

Humanity was racing against time.

The government was continually scouting for talented individuals to contribute to Gaea.

Thus, a child who exhibits extraordinary brilliance usually attracts companies that are hoping to become leaders of Gaea.

The child's family will receive offers which are likely health insurances and comfortable quality of lives in exchange for the child's custody.

Once the family makes a deal, the child will be taken by the company and be raised to become the prodigy in an industry.

While it seemed inhumane and heartbreaking, this kind of story was not uncommon in Gaea.

Families were left with no choice when their only chances to survive or to ensure a good life for their kids were to trade their children off.

They could comfort their conscience with the thought that in the very least their child would be provided with three meals a day.

This was also the kind of past the six-year old NASA Young Inventors Golden 2109 recipient had.

Widely known as the youngest NASA Golden awardee, Skyler White was hailed a genius among the children recruited in Academia Astra.

She was from a humble pauvre lineage from V City, an isolated area near the outer regions.

In her early childhood years, the meek Skyler was thought of as atypical and had some eccentric habits in comparison with children her age.

In her preschool, she was a fast learner with good mastery of languages. Skyler had a strange fascination for astrology, technology and other sciences.

She refused to play with other kids.

Skyler would either spend most of her time surrounded with computers from a nearby gadget workshop, reading books in a public library or observing stars in a nearby rice field.

Hence, it did not surprise their community when she invented a software application which could detect sound waves and translate them into understandable language.

The NASA administrator bought her invention and installed it in the modern space crafts they use to this day.

It brought her the NASA Young Inventors Golden award and made her the youngest recipient of the said award.

The fame of her outstanding invention had undoubtedly attracted the attention of several powerful companies in Gaea, including the NASA itself.

However, Skyler's dad did not want to send her away even with the tempting bargains presented to them.

She was her parents' only child. They could not bear to lose her.

Inopportunely, luck was not on their side and a grave misfortune befell them.

Just weeks after turning down the offers, her father collapsed from severe migraine and was diagnosed with brain tumor.

Skyler's father was confined and he lay unconscious in a small hospital which swiftly drained their finances including the money they earned from her invention.

Left without much of a choice, the filial young genius clandestinely took upon herself to save her family.

She contacted the company with the best offer and traded herself for a profitable pact.

A letter was included in the documents she received. It was from the company's specialized training school which was unheard of.

At the end of the letter, she was given an intriguing option to earn credits by accepting special school tasks and return to her family or to stay with her benefactor.

As it seemed like a doable arrangement, Skyler accepted Academia Astra's proposal in exchange for a lifetime support for her parents.

The mysterious CEO of the academy immediately procured custody of the frail genius, adopting her as his own and renaming her into her identity today, Skyler White.

Just like all the other gifted children in the exclusive academy, Skyler was never permitted to stray beyond the Academia's soaring gates by herself until she graduates.

With only a shabby backpack containing some of her clothes and a frame with her family photo, she was brought into the Academia located in A City.

This was the start of her rigorous training and special education to sculpt her into a prodigy scientist for the Academia's purpose.