(The flashback from 4.5 years ago continues).
In the center of the enormous hall, Castor Damon continued to read the data on the virtual interface. He pretty much ignored Zed’s existence in the hall.
After all, Zed was just a Level I mutant with no scientistic knowledge. Not to mention, he was poisoned and he needed the antidote pills from time to time to live. So Zed would have no choice but to be loyal to him if he wanted to survive.
In the meantime, Zed continued his observation of the hypersleep chambers. He tried to guess what purpose the particular wires and tubes connected to the hypersleep chamber served. After some twenty minutes, he was able to identify the power chord though he was not fully sure. He mainly guessed based on how the chord extended to the roof of the hall and merged with the sensor-sensitive light system.
He then observed a large metallic container, marked with some alien text he couldn’t understand. The metallic container has hundreds of tubes which connected to every hypersleep chamber.
"Is this oxygen tank?" Zed wondered. In the last five days, he has seen similar metallic containers with the same text. The vital zone of the meteorite was separated from the world and yet it had oxygen. Earlier, he has noticed ventilation systems connected to such containers so he made this guess.
"Mind truly works super fast in desperate situations," Zed bitterly thought. Everything he has seen and heard in the last five days was proving some use. He hoped this new effectiveness from his brain would give him a chance to survive.
After confirming Castor Damon’s attention was fully on the virtual console, Zed stepped behind one of the hypersleep chambers. He tapped a finger on a tube connected to the oxygen cylinder.
A spark surged out of his fingertip and entered the tube. He then sent another spark in the pin-size exhaust grilles of the hypersleep chamber.
Zed’s forehead was drenched with sweat and he wiped it out with his hand. He prayed he would not be caught as he carried out similar tasks on other hypersleep chambers.
After this, he once again studied the hole he has found behind a particular hypersleep chamber. He theorized this hole was some sort of pipe leading to a duct or another room. Regardless, it could serve a use to him and not Castor Damon due to their body size.
"Never thought having a famished body would prove useful," Zed bitterly mused in his heart. He then walked to the end of the hall.
The walls, ceiling, doors, and pretty much everything was white, created from unknown metals. There was not a single scratch on the surface despite the passings of centuries.
"Just what are these meteorites? Where did they originate from and why did they crash on Earth?"
Zed has many questions but no one to answer him. He observed the wall at the end of the hall and noticed a virtual command panel.
After five days in BSE79, he has some basic understandings on the functioning of these panels. He studied the options and graph-like figures on the interface to guess what the command panel was for.
Just like before, he transferred a spark on the circuits which were responsible for the command panel.
Dringgg
A loud sound reverberated in the hall. Shocked and frightened, Zed looked towards the center of the hall where Castor Damon was standing.
A large virtual screen has popped in front of him. Zed sighed in relief that he was not caught and berated himself for being so tensed. He then quickly joined Castor Damon to understand what was happening.
The screen was filled with a chart of Milky Way. The spiral arms, solar bodies, asteroids, dust, and everything in the chart seemed far too real to be just a projection. Everything was life-like including the perilous inner regions of Milky Way.
"Our planet was formed about 4.5 billion years ago," Castor Damon said after Zed arrived. "Do you understand how long a time period of billion years is?"
Zed didn’t really know, and even if he knew, he was wise enough to know he has to play the role of an ignorant fool. Castor Damon didn’t think much of him, much less care about his knowledge. After all, for him, he was just a slum insect, a person whose life was on his mercy.
Zed understood the concept of engaging people like Castor Damon so he said, "No, sir. Can you explain?"
"As expected, you slum insects know nothing," Castor Damon said in a disdainful tone.
Zed lowered his head in shame. To be honest, he was not really ashamed since he never got any formal education. In the slums, every day was a struggle to survive and feed himself. He has no time, energy or resources to seek education.
"Around 3.7 billion years ago, the first trace of life came in existence on this planet," Castor Damon tried to enlighten the ignorant slum insect while observing the virtual screen. "And you know the funny part of our existence? Of course, you don’t. So let me tell you: For centuries, we thought our planet was the center of the universe. We are the greatest planet in existence.
"But this was just a bunch of nonsense spread by ignorant masses who call themselves educated. Our planet is not even the core of our own galaxy, much less the universe. What’s more, the main reason Earth has life is that we are thousands of light years away from the core of our own galaxy! It is just due to sheer lucky coincidences that life even appeared on Earth. But in the grand scheme of things, we don’t even matter.
"Our evolution history doesn’t deserve to be recorded much less admired," Castor Damon’s eyes sparkled as he continued. "That was until 1900 when the meteorites from that world appeared."
Zed silently listened while observing the projection of Milky Way. He was mesmerized by its beauty while feeling smaller than ever before knowing he was not even worth a grain of sand in this galaxy.
"No one knows from which galaxy those meteorites originated, but we know they coursed out of the core of our galaxy, traveling at a speed far greater than light before crashing in our solar system," Castor Damon explained.
"How did those meteorites survived such a long journey? Just what powered them?" Zed asked, playing his part.
Castor Damon’s lips curved up.
"We have reasons to believe that world has a power source," Castor Damon answered. "A source so strong that it could power hundreds of galaxies! If I have to hypothesize, it was this power source that fuelled the meteorites."
"Oh!" Zed was stunned by the answer.
Just one galaxy was so vast and filled with wonders then what was the concept of hundred galaxies? Just what sort of world has such a terrifying power source?
Castor Damon, in the meantime, clicked a few options on the virtual console while studying some things from the Milky Way. After a few minutes, he chose another option, and the images on the screen changed.
"Success!" Castor Damon was delighted as he finally got information on what he wanted.
On the screen, an object resembling an amethyst crystal appeared. A six-sided prism at the center and pyramids on both the ends. It was as long and as thick as a baby’s fist.
"Cosmic Spark! The power source of that world!" Castor Damon muttered, his mouth agape in shock and wonder. He was in a trance as he stared at the screen.
As soon as Zed saw the image of Cosmic Spark, he started shivering. His entire body was drenched with cold sweat, every pore precipitating heavily. His skin was filled with a numbing and crawling sensation while his heart thumped loudly.
"What’s going on?"
His breathing stalled as he felt a crisis countless times stronger than he has felt ever before. The danger he has sensed from this hall or other areas in BSE79 so far seemed nonexistent compared to what he was feeling now.
Every cell in his body was desperately warning him of a life and death crisis. No matter how he tried, he couldn’t calm himself. His instinct wanted him to escape from whatever this object was even if it was just a virtual image.
The next moment, the image on the screen changed.
A white casket, covered with decorative and beautiful runes appeared. Cosmic Spark was embedded in the center of the coffin.
"Why is Cosmic Spark embedded in a casket?" Castor Damon furrowed his bows. "And how is it safe despite the radiation from Cosmic Spark?"
Castor Damon was processing this when he noticed the structure of the room where the casket was located.
"Unbelievable!"
Even though it was just an image, but with his knowledge, he was instantly able to judge the quality of the room. The heat from a powerful nuclear blast was about 100,000,000° Celsius, the same as the interior of the sun. But the metals from which the room was build could actually handle a million times the heat and radiation from nuclear blasts. Such numbers were not just shocking but they were terrifying.
He was sure that even in that world, such metals were rare and supreme. So why were they used just to prepare a room to contain the coffin and Cosmic Spark?
As a rank 9 scientist in the world government, he knew the government has a shard of Cosmic Spark. The shard was as thin and long as a hair. Even after a century, the government failed to fully exploit its power.
If the Cosmic Spark was embedded in a casket then how did the government get a shard?
For years, he has hypothesized that Cosmic Spark was shattered in pieces due to the long journey. Yet the records so far were pointing to a different scenario.
Castor Damon was in the middle of contemplation when the image on the screen changed once again.
"WHAT?!"
Castor Damon was horrified. His jaw dropped while his eyes popped out as if he was witnessing the end of the world.
Zed was equally stunned, his eyes filled with disbelief. Both of them were shocked out of wits with what they were seeing.
On the screen, inside the room, hundreds of laser beams were aimed at Cosmic Spark embedded on the casket.
Every single laser beam was as thin as a silk thread but the energy was countless times stronger than the power from an atomic bomb explosion.
What’s more, the hundreds of beams were aimed at only one spot on Cosmic Spark. Yet, there was not a single scratch on Cosmic Spark.
"Are they insane?! Why would they harm the power source of their world?!"