On her morning run, Leanna spotted her younger sister sitting quietly alone in the holographic experience room. It was rare to see her so still. Curious, Leanna approached and saw her wearing a sensory acquisition device. She wasn't in full immersion mode but was gazing around as if listening to music.
“What are you doing?” Leanna asked.
“Interacting with him.”
“How?”
“Pretending to be a stranger, seeing how he reacts.”
“And how does he react?”
“He's different in different periods.”
“Oh, so you know his entire past?”
“Yes. Want to try?” Liana took off the helmet and handed it to her sister.
Liana sat beside her, put on the helmet, and scanned his life timeline. She noticed an emotional fluctuation during his childhood and grew curious—what could it be? Such a young age, such a huge emotional upheaval.
Liana activated the helmet's experience mode and moved to that moment. All she felt was the world blurring before her eyes, the ground beneath her feet thudding and trembling. He clung to his mother's thigh, screaming desperately, “Stop hitting her! Stop hitting her!” He feared his father would hurt his mother badly. But his tiny frame couldn't stop anyone. All he could do was scream until it felt like he'd emptied every last breath from his lungs, his chest heaving against his back. His hoarse voice could no longer muster a louder cry to halt them. The ground beneath him still trembled, his small body swaying between them like a leaf...
Liana opened her eyes, removed her helmet, and looked at Lydian.
“Did you experience it all?”
“Yes,” Lydian replied flatly.
“It's like poison,” Liana said, setting her helmet aside.
“So that's why he needs soul healing, right?” Lydian asked.
" Yes, but he could have overcome those. It was mainly the passing of loved ones he cared about later, and..." Leanna paused, looking at Lydia, who was smiling at her.
“Alright, don't let this low-energy state affect you,” Lydia advised her sister.
“I won't,” Lydia replied, taking the perception-gathering helmet back into her hands.
Today, Leanna was scheduled for a video conference with other duty-rotating species to discuss their respective areas of responsibility. Though Earth's ascension had long been celebrated and its occurrence supported by observations of the solar system entering distinct material-energy bands, it remained far from the legendary utopian paradise. The involvement of different interstellar species only added to the complexity of the timeline. For individuals involved, this cataclysmic shift presented an opportunity to elevate themselves through stark contrasts and confront challenges head-on.
Despite the principle of non-interference, meddling never ceased. Various races and factions pursued overt and covert agendas, influencing Earth's civilization throughout history.
At the conference's conclusion, a representative from the Sirius branch raised an objection to Leanna, stating,
“Several days ago, we detected your extraction of a Chinese individual from Earth. That person was our interstellar seed. You have no right to take him away.”
Liana had already turned to leave, but upon hearing this, her displeasure surfaced. She turned back and retorted,
“If he's one of yours, why didn't you treat him properly? Why abandon him to that hellish birth family?”
The other party remained stubborn, retorting,
“That was his own life plan. You must respect his personal will.”
“Fine, respect his personal will,” Liana said, raising an eyebrow.
“In 2025, he announced...” Liana intended to say, ‘to work for us,’ but realizing her evidence didn't support that phrasing, she quickly amended,
"...joined us. " She then presented the evidence, adding with deliberate emphasis the other person's own words:
“You must respect his personal will.” With that, she stormed off.
Through the starship's porthole, Leanna gazed down at the blue planet. White clouds mottled the azure sea, sunlight illuminating Earth's thin atmosphere as well as the starship's windows and cabins. She had lived in low Earth orbit for many years. With a lifespan far longer than that of humans, it felt as though she were observing ordinary lives unfold from a godlike perspective. Her heightened perception allowed her to sense the joys and sorrows of different people throughout their lifetimes, as if she had lived those lives herself. Yet, somehow, the feelings of these lives always seemed vaguely unreal.
Below, Earth's cities glowed brightly while the countryside remained dim. What must it feel like to spend an entire life there?
Liana sat in her room, accessing his memories through the combat situational awareness device she wore. Instead of searching for a specific memory to view, she let her current mental state's consciousness frequency match recommend one.
It was his childhood, winter in the north, an industrial city with paper mills, chemical plants, and metallurgical factories lining the river that cut through it. Most who lived here depended on these factories for their livelihoods.
After elementary school, the entire class was invited to a classmate's home for a birthday celebration. Each child received a slice of birthday cake—his first taste of such a treat.
When the celebration ended and everyone headed home, the sun had already dipped behind the western hills, leaving only a final streak of crimson across the horizon. It was also his first time venturing so far and returning so late. Unfamiliar with the surroundings, he jogged along the path he'd taken earlier, hoping to reach the familiar environment before darkness fell.
Fortunately, before that last streak of crimson vanished from the horizon, he reached the familiar intersection of highway and railroad tracks. Crossing the tracks, he found the paper mill's compound wall to his left and the middle school playground fence to his right. The road was blanketed in snow, but along the edges, patches of ice had been worn smooth by students skating back and forth. He ran and glided along these sections, delighted because it meant he could get home faster.
Passing through the paper mill's gates led to the factory residential district's roads. Thick snow blanketed the green shrubs within the roadside fences. Night had fallen completely, with only the lights from each household spilling onto the pavement through their windows. Occasionally, the scent of fried scallions from someone's dinner drifted by, or the aroma of fried hairtail fish wafted from another home. He ran on, thinking of his grandmother, afraid she might worry about him, and eager to return to her side.
Glancing back at the path he'd covered, he saw the dark night closing in behind him, gradually swallowing the trail. Only the scattered lights beside him illuminated the road ahead.
A gust of north wind swept through, shaking snow from the willow trees lining the road. Snowflakes drifted down onto his path in the darkness, reflecting yellowish-white sparkles from different angles as he moved, like fairies guiding him through the night.
Just past the next intersection lay his home. His heart felt as though it had sprouted wings, soaring toward the only refuge in the dark night.
Liana emerged from this immersive memory, curious why this particular segment had surfaced. Rising to the window, she gazed out at the view. The starship orbited Earth at roughly eight thousand kilometers per second, yet even this vessel stretching thousands of meters long appeared but a speck against the vast cosmic backdrop.
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and then Add to home screen.