Chapter 2: History

Because of the accident he had suffered, David had tossed and turned all night, unable to find rest. Just as he finally drifted into a hazy slumber, he was startled awake by the identity bracelet on his wrist. At that moment, the intelligent housekeeper entered to remind him that Jessica was already waiting for him at the door.

It was only thanks to the housekeeper’s reminder that David remembered his agreement with Jessica: to attend the signing event for renowned author Burgess’s new novel, “War and Love.” Originally, he had intended to back out of this engagement, but when he learned from the housekeeper that the venue was a physical bookstore, he decided at once to go.

His longing to uncover the unknowns of this world and the gaps in his own memory made him desperate for information. Yet he didn’t even know how to search for information in this world; a bookstore of physical books became his best option.

On the way with Jessica, David quickly discerned that she didn’t treat him as a close friend. In fact, the more he remained silent, the more distant and impatient she became.

With a single word of agreement, David quickened his pace to walk beside Jessica, his gaze constantly roaming to take in his surroundings.

The cars floating just above the ground along the road, the city completely shrouded in stone, even the houses built as solid as fortresses—without a single window—gave him a strong sense of unease about this world.

The bookstore was not far, so they didn’t use any transport. After walking about three kilometers, turning the corner from David’s street, he saw crowds gathered in front of the shop.

David glanced uneasily behind him. There was nothing there—or so it appeared. In truth, a strange, semi-transparent shadow lurked invisibly at his back.

He had discovered this shadow upon awakening in the basement. The first time he noticed it, it nearly scared him to death.

Through repeated experiments, he found that this peculiar shadow followed him wherever he went and obeyed his commands to move.

So far, its only apparent ability was invisibility, but that alone was a comfort against his loneliness in this unfamiliar world.

David had already tested that Jessica could not perceive the invisible shadow, but with nearly a hundred people in front of him, he still worried someone else might notice.

“We’re late. Looks like we’ll have to wait in line for ages!” Jessica complained.

She had gotten up at seven for this event, even though it was still the holiday and she usually slept until nine at the earliest.

David only smiled, unconcerned about the book signing; his interest lay in the books within the store.

“Please do not crowd! The signing event won’t begin for another hour. Mr. Burgess will arrive shortly—please line up and wait!” called a clerk, striving to maintain order.

“Jessica, I’m going inside to read. I’ll leave you to it,” David said.

“Go on, go,” Jessica waved him off. She had already spotted a few acquaintances in the crowd and no longer needed David’s company. They weren’t really friends, but compared to dull David, she preferred their unfamiliar faces.

David sensed that Jessica regarded him as a backup, a spare admirer. He suspected his predecessor must have been infatuated with her, prompting such treatment.

But that no longer mattered to him. Slipping past the scattered queue, he entered the bookstore.

Despite the prevalence of e-books, the sale of physical books was clearly thriving, judging by the store’s size.

A clerk glanced at him, saw he wasn’t trying to cut the line, and paid him no further heed.

Inside, more than a dozen large electronic posters decorated the store, most advertising “War and Love.”

The glass walls provided excellent soundproofing; the clamor of the crowd outside did not penetrate, making the bookstore unexpectedly tranquil—the perfect environment for reading.

David wandered past shelf after shelf. The sections were organized by philosophy, politics, law, military, economics, culture, education, sports, language and literature, arts, history, geography, and more, making it easy for readers to find what they wanted.

He stopped in the history section and picked up a volume titled “A History of the Interstellar Federation.” Taking it to a nearby seat, he opened the book.

He was the only one inside; everyone else present had come for the famous author’s signing, which took place outside, leaving the store itself in peace.

He turned to the title page and read a quote: “To survive or to perish, the world teeters on the edge of a cliff!” — Grand Marshal Danton of the Federation.

Pondering the meaning of these words, David turned to the contents of “A History of the Interstellar Federation” and began to read a sweeping, blood-and-iron chronicle.

In Star Year 10116, a violent spatial disturbance occurred on the outer edge of the sixteenth spiral arm of the Federation. This event triggered an unknown spatial shift, causing a section of two universes—the Interstellar Federation Universe and the Divine World Universe—to overlap.

Before this overlap, Planet Eighty-Two in the sixteenth spiral arm was an ordinary, unremarkable resource planet, inhospitable to human life.

But after the overlap, the planet underwent a miraculous transformation. The composition of its atmosphere changed, increasing in oxygen and other gases, making it habitable.

Moreover, vast deposits of kryptonite crystal were discovered beneath its surface.

Kryptonite crystal was the Federation’s main energy source. It was thanks to this resource that the Federation could travel through space and rule the entire Federation Universe.

But kryptonite crystal was also the fundamental energy source of the Divine World Universe. When the two universes overlapped, both sides discovered the planet’s riches.

From 10116 onward, for nearly a century until 10200, the two universes fought a life-and-death war for survival on this planet.

The war was mentioned only briefly in “A History of the Interstellar Federation,” but the fact that Planet Eighty-Two became known as Warstar testifies to the brutality of the conflict.

In the autumn of 10200, the unstable skies above Warstar split open, and gigantic insects emerged from the rift, descending upon the planet.

From the bodies of these massive bugs poured out swarms of others, some as small as a human, others tens of meters tall, attacking everything in sight with terrifying ferocity.

The tide of battle changed in 10200. Neither the Federation nor the Divine World could withstand these monstrous insects alone.

Both soon realized that the bugs grew by devouring any matter—human corpses, wrecked starships, buildings—everything was food to them.

Kryptonite crystal in particular drove them into a frenzy, and each time they captured a mine, their numbers exploded.

In 10202, the Federation and the Divine World signed an alliance, establishing a joint defensive line on Warstar to resist the insect invasion.

These creatures came to be known as the Swarm—a predatory, hostile race beyond communication.

For ten thousand years, Warstar stood as the bulwark of two universes, defended by countless Federation and Divine World warriors, who fought and bled to hold the line.

Of course, the Swarm constantly sought ways to break through and reach nearby planets. Despite all efforts, some Swarm did manage to slip past the defenses.

Because they could not invade in great numbers, they never gained the advantage, and the focus of both universes on extermination kept their populations from growing too large on other worlds.

But this didn’t mean the Swarm’s threat was gone. Their larvae were almost impossible to detect, burrowing deep underground and eluding all scanners.

When the time was right, these larvae could adapt to their environment and grow into new forms, launching attacks on local life.

This endless war was a constant headache for the Federation. More starships were built, more defenses erected across the cosmos, all to ensure distant worlds would not fall to the Swarm.