Beyond the Ninth Star

Ch. 5 Shocking Revelations and a Sleepless Night

"Where should we begin?" asked my mother, looking to my father for guidance.

"We should start with the basics," he replied.

"Okay," she turned back to me and continued, "Ame, do you know what the most important thing in the universe is?"

"No," I replied, intrigued.

"It's energy," she explained. "Every species, regardless of their level of development, depends on energy to survive. And every piece of technology requires some type of energy to function. Energy comes in many forms and is constantly transforming. For instance, when you run, you consume the chemical energy stored in your body and transform it into speed and heat."

"I understand," I interjected, "It's the law of energy conservation, right? Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, but simply transformed."

"Exactly," my mother nodded. "But it's more complex than that. Based on how a species interacts with energy, we can classify them into two groups: recyclers and wasters. Recyclers, as the name implies, follow the conservation of energy law and all the energy they consume will eventually return to the universe in some form. Humans on Earth and we Azulrians are examples of recyclers. On the other hand, wasters retain some of the energy they consume and never recycle it back into the universe. In other words, they slowly drain the energy available in the universe. Illuv'iam here is not only a waster but also one of the most hated species in the universe. He's an Ech'tari, commonly known as Nakrohost."

I couldn't help but glance at Illu, who appeared slightly annoyed by my mother's description, but remained silent.

"The battle that is currently raging between the Recyclers and the Wasters is the largest and most destructive in the history of the universe. It all began over 500 galactic years ago, when Lumien, Azulri, and Proximy-A recognized the urgent need to control the Waster population to prevent the depletion of energy reserves in the future, and approved a law that stated that all Wasters were limited to produce a single offspring." explained my mother, her voice heavy with sadness.

Illu, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up. "This law was just the final catalyst that ignited the long-standing tension between the Recyclers and the Wasters."

My mother nodded in agreement before continuing. "Recyclers have always held a grudge against Wasters because they drain energy directly from the universe, some are even treated like parasites and hunted down like the Nakrohosts. Nakrohosts suck energy directly from the core of their host planet, causing it to lose the ability to sustain its native population. In extreme cases, the entire planet is drained and destroyed, wiping out all life. On the other hand, the Wasters resent Recyclers because they are able to recycle energy, using it to build new technology and become wealthier than the Wasters. Fed up with being exploited economically and having fewer rights than the Recyclers, the Wasters started protesting and later, violent riots erupted. Eventually, they declared war on the Recyclers."

"I was actually a general fighting for the Wasters at the beginning of the war, but that's a story for another time." mentioned Illu

I was taken aback. "Really?" I asked, shocked.

He nodded but my mom interrupted us and continued her explanation: "About two galactic years ago, there was an incident. You were on your way back to Alzuri from Proximy-A when your ship was attacked by the Xyloks, one of the largest Waster species. If not for the Proximium royal guards who intervened, you would have been kidnapped, and the entire course of the war might have changed. After that incident, your mother, Her Highness Thea, decided to send you to an underdeveloped world to live until the war was over. But you didn't want to leave; you wanted to stay and lead Azulri in these difficult times. So, to ensure your safety, your mother had no choice but to wipe your memories and send you to Earth with two of her most trusted guards. It's still a mystery how they managed to track you down to Earth, but now that they've found you, there's no point in hiding. Our only choice is to return to Azulri."