Moreth Federation Star Map Draftsman I: Federation War

What do you know about black holes? On Earth, the idea that black holes can be used for time travel is familiar. The earliest such work was the joint research of Einstein and Rosen, so the method of completing time travel by crossing a black hole is called the Einstein-Rosen bridge, which the movies simply call a wormhole. In fact, time and space can be bent. For the same person, if he is in a different place, then the length of time he experiences is not the same. For example, at the edge of a black hole’s event horizon, a person perceives the passage of time as slower, while people far from the black hole perceive the passage of time as faster. As for whether people can travel through a black hole for time travel, it is impossible. Nothing can come out of a black hole. Known physics can tell us that the center of the black hole is the end of everything, and also the end of time, so where would travelers go? Here, time is meaningless; there is no beginning and no end. Helplessly, it just exists like that.

What season is this? The warm air blowing from the heating equipment makes one’s cheeks burn, quite different from the heat of summer, when one’s face does not burn when overheated; the skin cools down by evaporating sweat, and one’s face feels cold instead. Dawn Lucius’s ankles can clearly feel the cold, like squeezing into a cheap cafe on a dull winter day, with air coming in under the door even though the air conditioning is on. There is a hissing sound, the scraping of water mist through a narrow nozzle, can you imagine? The white water mist rushes into the air and falls back toward the table under the effect of gravity, and some of it is blown away by the wind before it touches the table. When it floats over the coffee cup, the mist is entwined with the aroma of coffee, which brings to mind the fragrant acidity of coffee fruit reverberating in the throat. Raising one’s hand, the liquid in the cup shakes; the vibration is small and difficult to detect, but, nevertheless, it is noticed. Take a deep breath and wake up from the lethargy just now: coffee is coffee, fog is fog.

Dawn Lucius woke up from the self-talk in his head. The Star Source on his hand was still there, and the device still seemed to be sucking at his body. He tried to pry it off, but the thing was no longer so much a device on his hand; now it was more like a piece of his skin, still faintly glowing. His arm was back to flesh and blood, and the piece of skin burnt through on his chest was back to its original form. The pain and hunger, the two strongest sensations, were no longer there. Physically, he felt as healthy as an adolescent, and if he felt carefully, he could even feel his bones growing and elongating. Dawn Lucius got off the bed. The room was all white, like the mythical descriptions of heaven. He went to the mirror next to the bed; apart from his clothing having turned all black, he had a lot of questions in his mind.

Dawn Lucius woke up, and Sandra was not with him. He began to worry about her. He walked around the room but did not find a way out. The room was empty; apart from the single bed he had woken up in, there was a small table against the wall, and on top of it was the flexible device that he had worn on his hand before. He put the device back on his left hand and tried to wake it up, but it never did, and his heart was more or less sore as his thoughts grew. Dawn Lucius sat back on the bed, and the past became clear in his mind. He now understood the mood of the elderly, the kind of time when only memories are left. Memories are the most valuable; past happiness becomes sweeter, past conflicts no longer matter, what should be remembered is remembered, and what should be reconciled is reconciled.

What Dawn Lucius and Sandra hadn’t expected was that the mystery man Prince Burt had them escort would nearly kill Dawn Lucius. Following the coordinates in the device provided by Burt, they flew straight to the vicinity of Prince Carlson’s fleet, which seemed to be at the gravitational depression of Moreth Federation’s capital system. Strath Federation had already penetrated into Moreth Federation’s star field and was approaching Kunek Planet, but at this time there were no Moreth Federation troops to stop the Strath people; at this rate, in half a day, the Strath people would be able to fly within sight of it. Sandra established communication with Carlson, and after understanding their purpose, Carlson allowed Dawn Lucius and Sandra to take the mystery man to the smallest troop carrier. The soldiers who searched the three of them were neater than the soldiers under Prince Burt; or rather, they looked more like a well-trained, disciplined army. They wore uniform legion insignia, and their weapons were regularly maintained, while the soldiers under Prince Burt looked more like an improvised band of bandits. They landed at the stern of the troop carrier, and the soldier who led the way took the three of them through most of the ship. Densely packed soldiers were sitting on the ground, some lying down in place to sleep with their weapons in the crook of their arms, ready to join the battle at any time. In some areas, objects were neatly covered up, so close to the army that those giants seemed to be some kind of weapon. At the thought of this, Dawn Lucius could not help but sweat for Moreth Federation.

When they met Carlson in the command room, he did not seem very surprised by the arrival of the three. Even when he learned the identity of the mystery man, his face showed no more than a hint of doubt; he only said lightly, “I do not understand.” He then stressed that he, Carlson, had countless friends, but none of them had betrayed him, not to mention the so-called friend of Carlson’s that Burt said had made Carlson very sad.

“So,” Carlson pointed to the mystery man before returning his eyes to the nebula map in front of him and continuing to rummage for information. He spoke after a pause. “You two don’t know who this is either?”

“Prince, Prince Burt told us that we are not allowed to open his mask,” Sandra explained.

“Then it is strange. My second brother sent such a person here; if he has some misunderstanding, then we may have new trouble.” Carlson said this and then walked over to the mystery man. He took the man’s hand and looked at his palm print. The mystery man quickly retracted his hand while taking a step back in shock, and before he could take another step back, two soldiers held him in place. “Let’s see who he is,” Carlson said, raising his hand to signal the two soldiers to untie the mystery man’s veil.

“Then we’ll stay out of it from here on. Would Prince Carlson please let us both leave first? I’m going back to brief Jonathan Moreth Steader on the mission, while he ......” Sandra pointed to Dawn Lucius, and before she could speak, Carlson interrupted her.

“There’s no rush.” Carlson continued after giving Dawn Lucius a look. “Is this friend of yours in a hurry to get back, too?”

“Yes, I’m anxious to get back to ......” Dawn Lucius moved forward a short distance, intending to tell Carlson how anxious he was to get back to Earth to find his son.

“We’re all in a hurry,” Sandra interrupted, staring him in the eye as she continued. “Prince, we both need to get back to Jonathan Moreth Steader and report back on the mission. After all, we’re just little people on an errand.”

“Okay, there’s no rush, so how about you come with my fleet to Kunek Planet? We were planning to go to Kunek Planet for a stroll.”

“Prince, you are going to attack Kunek Planet. If we fly over with Strath Federation’s fleet, we are afraid that we will become enemies of both Moreth Federation and Strath Federation. We are not the people of Strath Federation. We are not from the Strath Federation, and our families are still in the Ashton Federation, so that would not be good. We should just continue flying the same boat we came in.” Sandra looked helpless.

“Understood, also.” As Carlson said this, the mystery man’s hood was unlocked, and the device sealing his ears was also removed. He scanned everything in the room quickly, his eyes like a sharp knife, and Dawn Lucius felt the skin of his left chest sting a little, as if cut by the mystery man’s knife.

“Lord Winifred, how could it be you?” Sandra’s voice trembled as she spoke after seeing the mystery man’s face.

“Who?” Carlson asked, looking at the mystery man.

“Who?” the mystery man asked back with an angry snarl as he walked towards Sandra, raising his voice even higher before asking, “You’re the traitor who tied me up on the enemy ship, aren’t you? You must not let me go back to Ashton Federation. If I go back or can contact anyone in Ashton Federation, then your family won’t live either. I want you to ......” The mystery man clenched his teeth and continued. “Remember what I just told you.”

“You, now, don’t threaten her either.” Carlson walked up behind Lord Winifred and patted him on the back with a playful smile on his face, and he continued, “If you want to blame anyone, blame yourself for not being capable enough. You were actually caught by my second brother, not by this subordinate of yours. How about this: I don’t mind you; we are planning to go for a stroll, and you will come with me.”

“Which one are you?” Lord Winifred tried to pull out the hands that were bound behind him, but he hadn’t expected the mechanical cord to contract tighter the harder he pushed, and the pain made the corners of his eyes squeeze together. “I’m Carlson, and I’m ......”

“I thought it was somebody. A first-class civilization barbarian, have you considered the consequences of treating me like this?” Lord Winifred interrupted Carlson. He turned around and approached Carlson; it looked as if he wanted to bite Carlson to death, but he was dragged back by two soldiers behind him. Lord Winifred twisted his body but could not shake off the soldiers.

“It seems that you still don’t know what’s going on out there.” Carlson walked up to Lord Winifred and raised his hand to signal the soldiers to let go. Dawn Lucius was still wondering how Lord Winifred would bite Carlson when Carlson actually untied Lord Winifred’s bindings, and then Carlson spoke. “Don’t be so petty. What first-class civilization, second-class civilization? We are all barbarians in front of Datheon. Why don’t we consider uniting to break through the real technological barriers and voyage across the barren star fields of Orion Arm? Just imagine, we would see scenery that our ancestors have not seen and experience civilizations that they have never been exposed to. We could even fly out of the galaxy and visit countless other galaxies, which is better than being stuck in our lifeless political struggles.”

“I’m not that interested. You’d better hurry up and let me go and send me back to Ashton Federation,” Lord Winifred said as he squeezed his fists, then squeezed both arms, the numbness mostly gone.

“I’m afraid you’ll have to get back late.” Carlson looked at Lord Winifred and smiled.

“What do you mean, you’re afraid? My Ashton Federation has allies all over Orion Arm, and if they know you’ve detained me, I don’t think you’ll be able to go back to your old stomping grounds for the rest of your life. You’d better think about how to live the rest of your life on the run from now on.”

“Running away won’t be necessary. As for Ashton Federation’s so-called allies, the basis of your alliance is White Crystal. They appear to fear Ashton Federation and Madam Winifred because only White Crystal can let them continue to live. But this situation will soon be reshuffled, and before long, when the Strath people fight their way into Ashton Federation, you will understand how unreliable your allies are.”

“Where would you get the ability to fight your way into Ashton Federation?” Lord Winifred continued with a sneer. “When has a first-class civilization ever been able to cross the star field? From Strath Federation to Ashton Federation, the interstellar voyage would take half your life. Not to mention that you would only reach the periphery of Ashton Federation’s star field before being destroyed by our allies. Your illusion is quite something.”

Carlson shook his head and put his left hand on Lord Winifred’s shoulder. Lord Winifred disdainfully shrugged off his hand and turned his face to the other side. Carlson said, “We’re almost at Kunek Planet, and I would like to invite you to join us for a stroll. As for you, don’t be in a hurry to go back to Ashton Federation; I will naturally let you go back when the time comes.”

“What?” Lord Winifred seemed unable to believe this as he raised his voice and asked, “You were able to get through Moreth Federation’s defenses?”

“What’s so hard about that? The rest of my friends should be in Ashton Federation’s star field by now. Maybe you guys don’t know yet?” Carlson chuckled.

“What are you doing?” Sandra asked eagerly.

“Not doing anything. Like I said, just going for a stroll.” Carlson’s face was always full of mockery when he said the word “stroll.”

“Is it you, the traitor?” Lord Winifred stared at Sandra. His meaning was more than obvious: he thought that if Carlson’s people had really reached Ashton Federation, it was with Sandra’s help.

“My Lord, I didn’t.” As Sandra spoke, Dawn Lucius could visibly feel her trembling as she backed up to Dawn Lucius’ side, her shoulder resting on Dawn Lucius’ arm.

“All right.” Dawn Lucius shouted loudly. He had nothing to fear, and he was disgusted by this kind of bureaucracy, which had been abandoned in the solar system for centuries. He put his arm around Sandra’s shoulders and looked at Lord Winifred. “I don’t know how this one got through the Moreth Federation’s defenses, but if his friends have reached Ashton Federation, covering that distance in so short a time would require Star Bridge technology, or else they invented another technology themselves to cross the sea of stars. These ......” Dawn Lucius had unknowingly mentioned the “Star Ocean,” and his heart felt a little heavy. He swallowed and continued. “Sandra doesn’t have the money to pay for the Strath people’s Star Bridge; that needs no explanation. Ashton Federation diplomats are very transparent and have little money. Besides, her family is trapped in Ashton Federation, so why would she want to lead the enemy to harm her own family members?”

“That’s wishful thinking on your part,” Lord Winifred said disdainfully.

“Whatever. What you have to consider is that Star Bridge technology cannot be used for war; that is the consensus of several major Federations. So why was Strath Federation’s fleet able to travel through the Star Bridge ......” Dawn Lucius was going to say that it was the Moreth Federation that had let the Strath people attack Ashton Federation, but he was interrupted by Lord Winifred’s next act.

Lord Winifred pushed Carlson away and at the same time turned and grabbed the weapon of one of the soldiers. He did not shoot at Carlson, but pointed the gun at Sandra. He completed these actions in the blink of an eye, not like a sudden impulse, like taking a bite of ice cream, but more like a deliberate plan. The gunfire left the muzzle and raced toward Sandra. Carlson had not yet regained his footing, the robbed soldier had just yanked Lord Winifred’s elbow, and Sandra had not yet understood why Lord Winifred wanted her life. As for Dawn Lucius, not knowing which instinct had gone wrong, he had already pulled Sandra behind his back without having time to think. The gunfire exploded straight into his chest, peeled away the thin clothes, scorched skin and muscle, cut through a bit of the ribs, burned a channel through a lung, and after penetrating the muscle tissue of his back, also went through Sandra’s shoulder. After the two fell to the ground, two soldiers took control of Lord Winifred, and Carlson re-bound Lord Winifred’s hands behind his back, pulling hard a few times to test whether the binding was tight. Dawn Lucius took a strong breath and then lost consciousness, and when he woke up again, he was in this room.

“You’re awake.” Dawn Lucius was dazed when a door opened in the wall to his right, and an old woman with white hair stood in the doorway and addressed Dawn Lucius.

“Awake?” Dawn Lucius heard the grandmother’s words, which proved that he was still alive.

The old woman didn’t say anything, nor did she move on; she just stood there, quietly watching Dawn Lucius.

“May I ask, am I not dead?” Dawn Lucius rushed over to the old woman.

“No.” With that, the old woman turned and headed out the door, followed by Dawn Lucius.

As Dawn Lucius left the room, the walls of the room came down and closed. He realized that the building he was in resembled a viewing platform in a forest of giant plants. The platform was circular, with large pools of water on top and small decorative plants on the sides of the pools. The platform was fixed to a cylindrical support, and above the platform was a suspended dome. When he looked outside, white birds were flying above the vibrant forest of giant plants, and a bit further away, several identical buildings were spread out, until the view was blocked by a high mountain, and a blue waterfall pulled Dawn Lucius back to the present.

“May I ask where this is?” Dawn Lucius asked. He felt that something was wrong but couldn’t put his finger on it.

“One of Moreth Federation’s planets, Tolay Planet.” Granny stopped at the edge of the building. She turned her face to look at Dawn Lucius and found him with his mouth open, like a computer that had overloaded and died. Granny turned her face back. “Let me give you the general idea,” the old woman continued, and from her explanation, Dawn Lucius got this information.

“The place you came from, the solar system, is part of the galaxy, just like us, and this is covered in your elementary physics. There are five cantilevers in the galaxy, and our star field is on one of them. You know which one it is, right?” Granny asked.

“Orion Arm.”

“Yes. Because the Earthlings observed the constellation Orion for a long time, this spiral arm is also called the Orion Arm. It is a small spiral arm of the galaxy, not as large as the Sagittarius Arm and the Perseus Arm. But can you imagine how much life there is on this spiral arm, how many of these beings are second-tier civilizations with interstellar travel capabilities, and how the conflicts between civilizations are handled?”

“I’ve heard Sandra talk about second-tier civilizations,” Dawn Lucius replied.

“Within the known civilizations in the galaxy, those below the level of development of life on Earth are low-level, zero-level civilizations. Those with interstellar management capabilities like the Moreth Federation are considered Level 2 civilizations.”

“What about higher level civilizations?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll help you sort out Orion first; it’s important for you.” Turning her face, with the same expressionless face she had when they first met, the grandmother continued. “The conflict between the first- and second-level civilizations has always been the biggest headache. The wars between these civilizations most of the time affect other civilizations, even drawing the races of thousands of planets into the war, fighting until Orion Arm is full of destruction. The longer a war lasts, the worse it is for the development of science. War can only improve the offensive and defensive capabilities of weapons; it is not beneficial for real Science - the search for truth. In the beginning, the planets fought each other, just like in the history of you Earthlings. Each planet tried to increase the size of its army, improve the killing power of its weapons, and expand its defensive range, and some civilizations were not even settled on a particular planet; they were like the nomads in your history, fighting and plundering everywhere.”

“Earthlings don’t fight civil wars anymore.” Dawn Lucius interrupted.

“Until there came a time.” The grandmother continued to speak as if she hadn’t heard what Dawn Lucius had said. “It took the appearance of a high level civilization to stop these wars, young man, and you must understand that high level civilizations are more developed than we can imagine.” The grandmother raised her finger and pointed at Dawn Lucius, just like a teacher does when she wants to reason earnestly with a student.

The grandmother put down her hand and continued. “The high-level civilization is called Datheon. Where their fingers pointed, the war ended, and the galaxy was superficially restored to its former calm. But many civilizations learned a lesson from it: if they don’t start a war, that doesn’t mean others won’t come to fight them, so they invested more time in building weapons. Their own starting point was self-preservation. But for other civilizations, this declared a threat of invasion. Can you imagine? Is it a threat to you to have a civilization in your neighborhood with space voyages and powerful weapons?”

Granny sighed and turned her back on Dawn Lucius.

“And did the war come back later?”

“Datheon came, and they propped up three Federations on Orion, which oversaw the conduct of war in Orion, and less developed civilizations have not dared to start a war since then.”

“Is that how the Federation came about?” Dawn Lucius took a step forward.

“Moreth Federation, led by Moreth people; Strath Federation, led by Strath people; Ashton Federation, led by Ashton people,” said the old woman.

“And which Federation does Earth belong to?” Dawn Lucius asked politely.

“The star field where Earth is located is no threat. You can’t even reach the star field within ten light years of yourselves, let alone attack someone else, although the brutality of the Earthlings is on par with that of the Strath people.” The Grandmother turned and looked at Dawn Lucius judgmentally, and Dawn Lucius took a slight step back.

Granny paused for a moment; she seemed to remember something from the past. Dawn Lucius did not find what she said shocking. He objectively believed that, with the level of development of Earth civilization, there was no chance of contacting these high-level civilizations. Just like the point he mentioned in his conversation with Kenny Jr. Clooney, which applied here: when a high-level civilization and a low-level civilization meet, either the low-level civilization is destroyed or the high-level civilization tolerates the existence of the low-level civilization.

“Where’s Sandra?” Dawn Lucius whispered.

“Let me tell you about these three Federations first, so that you will know how to deal with them when you encounter them later.” Granny didn’t answer Dawn Lucius’ question directly; she seemed to be completing her assigned task of telling Dawn Lucius about Orion. “Moreth people are good at technology. We have the smallest population. In the territory of us Moreth people, people are more concerned with technological development and making things for life. The star field of the Moreth people is ninety-four million Osei units.”

“Osei?” Dawn Lucius asked, puzzled.

“It’s a unit, similar to the ‘astronomical unit’ as you define it on Earth, where the distance from the Earth to the Sun is equal to one astronomical unit. ......” Granny was about to go on to explain the origin of the word “Osei” when Dawn Lucius interrupted. “Grandma, please continue with the Federation.”

Looking at the old woman’s expressionless face, Dawn Lucius bowed his head in apology.

“Moreth Federation has three main administrative departments. The Administrative Department is responsible for the management of rights, the Military Department is responsible for military operations, and the Finance Department is responsible for financial management and integrity monitoring. The three departments collaborate with each other externally and supervise each other internally. Moreover, these three departments also supervise the Moreth Steader’s rights to avoid the abuse of rights. For some oversized decisions, the Moreth Steader is required to get all three departments to agree before implementation.”

“Is Moreth Steader something like the emperor?” Dawn Lucius asked.

“Yes.”

“Is that Jonathan?”

“Yes.”

“Why am I here?” Dawn Lucius simply asked all his questions at once; otherwise the old woman would spend a lot of energy giving him another science lesson, and his concerns would not be addressed. Dawn Lucius swallowed, and it occurred to him that his question might be a little flawed, so he added, “I mean, how is it that I can understand the language you speak and I can speak your language?”

Dawn Lucius did not know if he had put it right. He waved both hands in the air in several circles; he did not know where to put his hands, so he clasped them in front of his chest. The grandmother did not rush to answer. She looked at the silver Star Source glowing on Dawn Lucius’ right hand and sucked in a breath, the words on the tip of her tongue, but she stopped. The grandmother looked at the cane in her hand, then looked up at Dawn Lucius and said, “I’m taking you to someone.”

The grandmother pressed the ring on her index finger, and a spherical craft rose from beneath the disc. As it flew to the two of them, the pure white sphere turned completely transparent, like a bubble floating in the air, and Dawn Lucius followed the grandmother into the craft. “You lower civilizations have a fatal flaw: you are too focused on the process. In your words, ‘when you hold a hammer, you just want to go all over the world looking for nails to hammer.’ You should focus on the result, and what is the result you want?”

“To go back to Earth,” Dawn Lucius replied.

Dawn Lucius thought to himself that this was not quite what he had expected from a higher civilization, at least not one so advanced that there were signs of technology everywhere. The sphere continued to fly forward, and when it passed through a force field that resembled a barrier, he was surprised by the sight of Tolay Planet, in a binary star system that revolved around a large black hole. The two stars were so close together that Dawn Lucius could clearly see the texture on the companion star, which took up almost half of the sky, while on the other side of the sky was the black hole. Its middle was pure black; light could not escape the gravitational pull of the black hole, and the light from the stars behind the black hole could not come straight through. The huge accretion disk of the black hole glowed with dazzling light. Due to the spin of the black hole, the stars around it were distorted, and it looked as if space had been squeezed and deformed. Earthlings had long observed the existence of black holes, but no one had seen one with their own eyes. Dawn Lucius swallowed hard; he even felt pain coming from his throat.

“Excuse me, is that one real?” Dawn Lucius asked, staring unblinkingly at the black hole. The grandmother did not make a sound, and the sphere continued to fly forward.

The sphere stopped in front of a ball hanging in the air, and as it was about to pass through, Dawn Lucius realized that it wasn’t really a ball; it was more like a portal to another dimension, or a portal. Dawn Lucius was excited. He was going to see what it was like in this high-tech tunnel, whether it would be like in the movies, where the stars start out as dots. As the tunnel started, the stars went backwards, and as the craft got faster and faster, the stars became lines and started to fly forward. In fact, Dawn Lucius was a little disappointed when the craft stopped in another dimension before he could even begin to think about it.

This space was like a staging area, probably a spaceport of the Moreth Federation. Granny pulled up her hood and covered herself. The silver light on Dawn Lucius’ right arm caught his attention, and he examined it carefully, but unable to figure out what the role of the Star Source was, he simply turned his attention to this fresh journey. The top of the tunnel was transparent, and the black hole and the companion star were not visible here. Dawn Lucius immediately thought that this was already another planet, but the starry sky overhead was still gorgeous, with blue and red nebulae bleeding into each other, motionless, and massive newborn stars were clearly visible inside. The stars were mostly orange-red, and the intense burning had turned parts of them white, like half a glass of milk poured into a cup of oolong tea.

Dawn Lucius quickly followed the old woman forward. At the end of the tunnel was a lake of iron-black liquid, and on the opposite side of the lake there was a strange complex of buildings with spherical bases, on which stood a number of triangles. One of the buildings was more conspicuous; it was suspended above a circle, and the circle had transparent windows. Looking upward along the building, many ships were flying in the sky. They had no regular shape to speak of, as if they were patchworks of various shapes put together; the only thing they had in common might be the light of their engine jets, a very clean blue. Some of the ships began to move slowly, and after moving forward some distance, the blue light from the tail suddenly brightened and turned white as the ships disappeared into the air, leaving not even a white wake.

Granny summoned the flying machine, again a sphere but smaller, and the two flew over the iron-black lake straight to the top of the highest building in front of the circle. The transparent landing window opened, and Granny led Dawn Lucius into the interior of the building. The two walked forward for some distance, and after passing through several doors, they came to a room with many transparent screens set up in it, displaying many symbols and slowly moving star charts; it looked like a remote monitoring room, watching the operation of many star fields.

“Mother.” A voice came from behind the two of them. When Dawn Lucius turned around, the man was bending down and bowing to the old woman. Dawn Lucius turned around to see his face, and he was thrilled. Dawn Lucius had seen him in the medical bay of the Sane ship, and he definitely knew how to get back to the solar system.

The old woman did not turn around and said indifferently, “The Earthling woke up. I saved him as much as I could, but in general, being able to live again in this form is due to his own strong life force.” The old woman turned to look at the man as she said it.

“Thank you, Mother.” The man bowed again, and Dawn Lucius looked on, at a loss for words.

“It’s good to see you awake.” He grabbed Dawn Lucius’ arms with both hands. “My name is Jonathan. I am the Moreth Steader of the Moreth Federation. Welcome to Kunek Planet.”

Dawn Lucius ignored this; he was more concerned about what it meant to “come to life in this form.” Dawn Lucius first looked at the old woman, then turned his face to look at Jonathan and asked, “What does ‘come to life in this form’ mean?”

“You explain it to him. I’m going back.” The old woman headed for the door, and Jonathan turned and bowed to see her off, not turning around until the old woman had walked out the door.

“Earthling, what’s your name?” Jonathan asked with an enthusiastic smile.

“My name is Dawn Lucius. Please call me Dawn.” Dawn Lucius returned to the question he had just asked and continued. “What does it mean to ‘come alive in this form’?”

“Well, to be precise, you’re dead; your Terran life form is gone.” Jonathan walked toward a screen and fiddled with its contents.

“And what am I?” Dawn Lucius asked as he caught up.

“We call it the transitional form.”

“Transition? What would I be transitioning into?”

“Pure energy body.” Jonathan turned to look at him and continued. “The thing on your right arm is Datheon’s advanced technology, a device reserved for Star Map Draftsmen.”

“Star Map Draftsman?” Dawn Lucius was still a little confused. Sandra had said he was a Star Map Draftsman, but he still didn’t know what, exactly, a Star Map Draftsman did.

“Right.”

“What’s it for?”

“The device has altered your physiology so that you can naturally understand over seven thousand alien languages and speak them without difficulty, which explains why you woke up able to talk to anyone you meet. This is also why you are still alive in this form.”

“I was on that ship ......,” Dawn Lucius continued to ask as he drew a circle in the air, roughly tracing the shape of the Sane ship. “What killed me?” He asked and then got a little confused; he didn’t know if the question was important, or what the point of asking it was.

“The Datheon emissary killed you, or rather, transformed you, and that is a ritual.” Jonathan pointed to the glowing Star Source on his right arm. “The beings selected as Star Map Draftsman are energized by the messengers, and if the being can withstand it, the messengers will find the being after a certain period of time and formally grant him the Star Map Draftsman’s qualification.”

“Then why were you there?” Dawn Lucius suddenly remembered Earth: why would an alien civilization run all the way to the Kuiper Belt?

“I stole this.” Jonathan pointed to Dawn Lucius’ right arm and added, “I wanted to be a Star Map Draftsman, but when I put it on, it almost killed me; I wasn’t the right person for it. I tried several times, and then I got locked in the med bay. Luckily, you opened it from the outside so I could get back to Moreth Federation. Otherwise, I would have been stuck there for even longer.”

“What does a Star Map Draftsman need to do?” Dawn Lucius looked at Jonathan as he asked again. “Can I go back to Earth?”

“The Star Map Draftsman’s mission will not be explained until the Datheon emissary comes to find you. You can return to Earth, and I suggest you hurry back to Earth.” Jonathan’s expression turned serious as he pulled Dawn Lucius over to a large screen.

Jonathan manipulated the screen for a while. He first circled a starry sky on the screen, and after he continued to zoom in, a number of red planets emerged from it. Jonathan pulled Dawn Lucius a step closer as he pointed to the screen and said, “Look, the Strath people have placed troops very close to Earth. The odds are they will attack the planet. We are worried about war.”

“An attack on Earth?” Dawn Lucius asked, growing worried.

“Right.” Jonathan replied in the affirmative as he continued. “If the Strath Federation goes to war against Earth, their forces will cross the border between the Ashton Federation and our Moreth Federation, and our fear is that the Strath Federation will take the opportunity to start a war while crossing our star field. In that case, Strath people will take over a large number of our planets.”

“Why?” Dawn Lucius’ mind became more suspicious as he continued. “Why attack Earth ...... I mean, Earth is a low-level civilization. What is the point of attacking it?”

“Low rank?” Jonathan asked rhetorically, turning to look at Dawn Lucius as he continued. “In the last seventy Earth years, the Terrans have become a first-class civilization, and the solar system that exists now is not the same as it was before you left.”

“Seventy Earth years?”

“Yes, the time here ......” Jonathan continued after a moment’s hesitation. “Unlike the solar system, we are close to the black hole, so time flows relatively slowly compared to the solar system.”

“But why ...... why do I feel like it’s only been a few days? Today is just like the second Wednesday since I’ve been away.” Dawn Lucius’s heart sank. Stacean Lucius, was he an adult now? Or, after these seventy years, was he still alive?

“Living around a black hole, time passes differently than in a star field far from the black hole, and the physics on Earth should have taught you this.” Jonathan raised his left hand and pointed his index finger in the air.

“Why ......” Dawn Lucius felt sad. He didn’t know whether to complain or be grateful; tears were rolling down his face, and his human side was still there. Jonathan was Moreth Steader, so no matter what, Dawn Lucius did not dare to speak loudly. He finished and bowed his head in respect.

“Oh ......” Jonathan continued with a long sigh of relief. “By the way, your rescue is complicated, and only my mother could have thought of such a good way to save you. Anyway, you’re still alive.”

“Can I go back to Earth now?” Dawn Lucius desperately wanted to go back.

“Yes, I’ll route you. You’ll only need ...... a day to get to your ...... in Earth time.” Jonathan scratched his temple as he wondered where Dawn Lucius would arrive. “Ha, I figured it out.”

“What?” Dawn Lucius queried.

“You’ll be able to get near Mars, where the Star Bridge station is,” Jonathan said happily as he pressed the ring on his index finger, and two men dressed all in black and looking alike walked in, looking like soldiers but without the soldier’s attire.

“Moreth Steader,” the two men answered as they bent down in front of Jonathan.

Dawn Lucius thought to himself, “Why does their civilization have the same rituals showing fear of power as Earth’s, when the more advanced a civilization is, the more such rituals should be abandoned?”

“Arrange a course to the solar system,” Jonathan said to the two soldiers.

One of them took out a sphere, and a hologram was projected. The man first selected a set of data in the image, then switched to a screen lined with various airships and selected a small, oddly shaped airship, which flew over from afar and stopped outside the circular window. Dawn Lucius took it, bowed to Jonathan, and said “thank you,” then turned to ask about Sandra. Jonathan said she had returned to Ashton Federation, and Dawn Lucius then put his mind at ease and stepped into the ship to Earth.