Prologue

What do you believe?...

The 24^th Century (Prelude)

We stand at the fringes of a great glowing ball of red light. Beyond this almost blinding light is that of the darkness of space. While it is nothing impressive, the red dwarf stars are the most common stars in existence that thrive in the vast emptiness of nothingness. They will be here far longer than any of the other stars that will eventually burn themselves out in advance. Tiny flares can be seen bouncing across its surface in an unending torrent of plasma rain.

Long, long ago, Earth, in its prime, had managed to help serve as the cradle of life. Through there, other life had evolved and gained enough intelligence to eventually vacate into the cosmos. It was the destiny of those lifeforms to find new homes. Earth was considered a place of beauty and remarkability. Many forms of life had existed and either adapted to their environment or faced extinction. It could even be argued that societies had concluded that it was impossible to maintain civilization on Earth indefinitely. Of course, such necessities weren’t necessarily out of the actions of the outside environment but the actions of the people themselves.

Earth was once a place of profound beauty. Some religions and beliefs had pointed to the aspect of the Garden of Eden. This wasn’t just the possibility for life to initially develop but served as a place of paradise. The Garden of God, of course, is only one of many different possibilities in a myriad of beliefs and ideals. Even if Eden did or didn’t exist, the very aspect remained. Earth was not as it is now. It was a place where great forests, grasslands, and life-filled oceans coincided together. Now, it remains as a barren death wasteland as the orange muck suffocates all life from further developing. Today, Earth is little more than the “Planet of lost cause.” Very few live on it, and those that do, go to profound lengths to ensure that they survive against the toxic effects of the environment.

Instead, humanity has been given a distinct miracle. The hope of folding space has served as the mortal hope for survival. New worlds were found, and new colonies were established in several solar systems. The Age of Gabatrix has arrived. While Earth remains a fickle aspect of its past self, humans have found new places to call home. Cebravis is, by many, the new Garden of Eden. Few religious aspects had even claimed that god or the gods had given the planet to them so that the same mistakes of Earth were never to be repeated. While science, agnosticism, and atheism have pushed out many of these beliefs, the past religions of ancient Earth still survive to some lengths. Even as far as the 24^th century, there is the equivalent of “modern Christians, Muslims, Hindus, and so forth.” There were so many different cultural and significant stories that had been passed on and changed that it was almost impossible to document all of them. However, technology is on humanity’s side. It was also possible that Cebravis was a new beginning for the human race. It was a second chance to ensure the past wrongdoings were never repeated.

The fact was that humanity was never alone when it came to intelligent life evolving on Earth. Ancient stories, fables, and other beliefs had indicated the concept that there were other types of “humanoid” creatures. Some would call them monsters. Others would call them heroes. But, in the end, very few truly knew of their existence.

Why was that the case? If there were other forms of life, why didn’t they make their presence more well-known? It wasn’t to say their existence was wholly muted, but with the lack of evidence and historical loss, these...”mythics” would be lost in the day-to-day life of human existence. While there were whispers, very few believed that anything else other than human beings evolved on Earth. If it doesn’t appear in front of us, then it shouldn’t exist, correct?

There is an interesting idea that the reason why humanity knew so little about the “mythics,” was due to the fact that there were so few of them. Almost a thousand years ago, it was believed that something would lay waste to many of the so-called “gods, mythical creatures, or mythical characters” that ever existed. Even before then, many of these famed mythics had entered treaties and basic compromises with one another. Taking up human form, they would ensure that the mortal humans would never know of their existence. By then, famed religious wars and crusades had dominated the newer growing religions. The mythics knew that they were to blame and that any further involvement would only bring further bloodshed and violence to the human race. The “Coalition of Deities” was the outgrowth of this secret society. Magic would only be used if it was necessary and never to be seen in front of human beings.

The Coalition worked despite the countless attempts to undermine it. It did its part in establishing that the existence of creatures other than humans was little more than a fairy tale. The Coalition numbers would grow in strength as the human population exploded. The mortals that did know about them promised to keep their existence a secret as they became husbands, dear friends, or wives. Many were given lavish places to live and enjoyed being with the mythics as lovers and companions for as long as they lived. Others enjoyed the life of becoming parents as the magical abilities either diminished or spontaneously arrived in the offspring. Even then, the numbers of the Coalition were never on par with the billions of humans in return.

However, while the mythics had done their part to remain quiet, a few did get involved in helping “push” humanity in the right direction. The fact was that Earth’s environment was on the decline. The mythics could not get involved with human destiny because “they choose” to make their world into a hellish landscape. If the mortals wish to destroy themselves, then that’s their choice, and they have the right to believe in such an action. The mythics were immortal, after all, and even a hellish landscape was something that never truly bothered them. The mortals could render themselves extinct, and the mythics would have Earth to themselves.

This didn’t mean that the mythics were without mercy. The need for companionship remained. If the mortals were gone, then that cornerstone would be forever lost. Children had been born from the mortals that disagreed with their parents’ desire to “remain neutral.” Using their human forms, the mythics would do their part to remain hidden while introducing things here and there to help expand upon human technology. It would give humanity different options if the worse came into existence.

The fact was that technology was more than pivotal when it came to human survival. As the mortals realized that the damage to Earth was permanent, the choice had to be made. It was time to leave. Earth was abandoned as Mars was made into a new home. Ultimately, Gabatrix would make his famous flight, and the humans would settle onto new worlds.

But what of the mythics? For a long time, the humans continued in never knowing the existence of monsters, gods, and creatures. Instead, the mythics chose to live on Luna while most of the humans lived on Mars. The so-called “lunarans,” or “lunarism” belief was little more than a deception of the true identity of the mythics. By then, the numbers continued to grow as the few mortals continued to take up a mythic as a lover and companion.

The fact remains that the mythics were never the same as they were thousands of years ago. The Age of Gabatrix had arrived. The mortals were finding new worlds to live on, and it was ultimately the time for the mythics to find a new home. A great white ark was constructed on Luna and used to “ferry” the lunarans to a world that they could remain hidden.

It is where we stand that we can gaze upon the new home of these mythical pilgrims. They had indeed found a new place, and it was the least likely of locations. To the mortals, the mystery of the lunaran ark and colony was something that confounded some. However, the course of settling on new worlds quickly superseded those questions. Mortals were interested in finding anything other than Mars to live on, and they got their wish.

But where are the mythics? The star stands as a monument of its harshness, and we begin to head away from it. It doesn’t take long to reach the first planet. Red dwarf stars and their worlds have to be close to one another. The first planet orbits its star almost once a day. It’s so close that it can become bathed in radiation and sheer heat. There is no hope of any life here while we continue to head away from it.

We then turn around and look upon the next planet that comes into view. Much like the other world, it’s remarkably close to its parent star. Its surface is that of sand and dust. Its orange and yellow hue glows on one side, while the other side is covered in darkness. The planet is tidally locked, forcing one side to face the star. Any indication of life is mute as the atmosphere gets routinely blown off by the severe solar flares that the star gives off.

Yet, it is here that we slow down and witness that of activity. This is abnormal activity as we can see scores of a dozen large white cylindrical vessels that remain in formation. Their goal is to stay in place and protect the world from harm. Not far from it is a floating distant white constructed gate ring.

This is known as the colony of New Olympia. A known world of the United World’s Alliance. The seemingly barren world of devoid life is actually quite busy than most are aware. The lunarins have long staked this place as their home. It baffles mortal scholars that question the sanity of why anybody would want to live here. With such fierce solar storms, the ability to live on the surface is beyond question. Yet, the people had chosen to live here.

Little does the outside know is that the New Olympians had found the perfect home. It’s a place that no mortal would ever want or ever desire to claim. Its location was almost a secret until the New Olympians sent a single ship to negotiate the wish to join the UWA. It was best to make sure that the humans knew about New Olympia but remain in the faithful guise of what was inside.

We begin our transition towards the barren planet. It gets closer and closer till the surface comes quickly, rushing up to meet us. Below, we can see one of the great hatches. The multicolored pinwheel is painted on the front with a series of flashing lights. This is the first doorway that leads into the interior of the colony. These hatches are large enough for the enormous dreadnoughts to fly into it.

Finally, we get close enough that we go through the door. We are greeted with the interior of New Olympia. Buried under a heavy layer of rock, the seemingly vast network of caverns spans endlessly. This is the first part of the ruse to fool the wayward mortal traveler. A large dockyard persists for the traveling ships to dock and depart the tourists that come. The great chasm connects to multiple hallways. The interior also holds a massive door past the main entry point. For a vast majority, many consider the door as a connection point to the construction and repair bays for New Olympia’s defense fleet.

Little do the human tourists know that the New Olympians that come to greet them are the same mythics from Earth. They still use their human forms to fool the mortals that they are talking to other human beings. Instead, the tourists and onlookers are given the wonder that the New Olympians had accomplished much. They had managed to create vast underground homes safe from the punishing solar storms and radiation.

Of course, the tourists are instead given a rather ... unique opportunity. New Olympia has garnered attention as the great mystery colony, but mortal orphans are brought to this world. The New Olympians will raise the children and babies as their own offspring. The reputation of New Olympia as the “Orphan Colony” or “The Colony of Adoption” has existed for fifty years. Tourists are isolated and spoken to. Safe from all possible prying eyes, the human forms are dropped for the humans to express their utter shock that there are other beings, other than humans, that exist. The New Olympians are the continuation of the great mythics and their struggle to find peace and prosperity in the galaxy.