999 OCTILLION SOULS, July 2, 2024
II THE BOX 9, 10
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TRANSLATOR'S NOTE:The following information is derived from Information Seed 40 and received by the Gravitational Wave Observatory. I and AI performed a frequency analysis on it. IE edited certain parts to make them more 'readable'. (He might have overdone it.) Please feel free to comment.9
An Earth year passed since Petra received the box. 13-year-old Petra woke with a gasp, heart hammering a frantic rhythm against her ribs. The familiar glow of her room's holo-ceiling did little to dispel the lingering terror of her nightmare. Cold sweat prickled her skin. The sheets tangled around her legs and felt heavy and suffocating.
In the dream, the strange box had transformed. No longer ornately carved wood, it pulsed with an ominous red light, the buttons glowing a malevolent crimson. Panic clawed at her throat as she fumbled with the buttons. The once-delightful fortune cookies were now spewing dark prophecies, and the zero-gee ball cards morphed into images of twisted landscapes and burning cities.
luo_ji: she watched too much TV
A disembodied voice, cold and sinister, echoed in her mind, promising power beyond imagination. But with each press of a button, the Earth outside her window changed. Lush green forests withered and died, replaced by a barren wasteland. The blue oceans churned a sickly green, choked with debris. Buildings crumbled, and once-majestic cities became smoldering ruins.
doc_T: unlimited power
Tears welled in Petra's eyes as she watched, helpless, from her window. The faces of her friends, her parents, her teachers, and everyone she loved, were dematerialized in the smoke-filled sky. Their screams were swallowed by a growing roar that tore everything.
Then, with a final, earth-shattering boom, the dream world dissolved into blinding white light. The sudden quiet of her room was deafening. Petra scrambled out of bed, sucking in deep breaths, trying to calm the frantic pounding of her heart.
Sleep, for now, was a distant prospect. But somewhere in the back of her mind, a seed of doubt had been planted. What if the box wasn't all it seemed? What if the fantastical presents it promised held a terrible secret, a power that could bring not wonder, but devastation?
malek_I_am: sounds like she has heart problems
10
Another Earth year passed. Petra dated Jae for a while. Then she dated Valentino and even Da Shi.
Petra, a fourteen-year-old, wasn't lacking in popularity. Zero-gee ball, the most popular sport in the solar system, was all about flashy maneuvers and lightning-fast reflexes – things Petra was born with.
Thanks to her box she had assembled a collection of zero-gee ball cards. Each card held a holographic image of a legendary player, frozen mid-air in a gravity-defying pose. These weren't just any zero-gee ball cards; they were valuable collectibles.
One day, Petra brought some of the cards to school. During lunch, she showed them to her friend George, a fellow zero-gee ball player. George's jaw dropped as he held a card depicting Zero-G Tsarina, her powerful kick propelling her across the court with unmatched grace. Word spread like wildfire. Soon, the cafeteria was buzzing.
Suddenly, these vintage cards became a conversation starter. Kids, usually glued to their VR training modules, crowded around Petra, peppering her with questions about the legendary players and their techniques. Petra, initially hesitant, found herself sharing the cards.
cosmos_boss: I was popular in school too and not just because I could buy baseball cards
Petra became the go-to source for all things vintage zero-gee ball cards. Seeing the enthusiasm among her peers, Petra had an idea. She proposed starting a Zero-Gee Ball Cards Club. With the support of George, Dinah, and a few other friends, she approached the school administration with her proposal.
To her delight, the school approved the club, providing a space for meetings and even a small budget for equipment. Petra was elected president, George became the vice president, and the club quickly grew to include over fifty members.
One afternoon, during a lively club meeting, Petra was approached by a quiet girl named Lila. Lila, it turned out, had a rare card that even Petra had never seen: a holographic image of Starhawk, a player famous for her unparalleled agility and game-changing strategies. Lila shyly asked Petra if she could help her learn more about Starhawk’s techniques.
Petra agreed. She and Lila spent hours after school analyzing Starhawk’s plays, discussing the mechanics behind her legendary moves. Petra realized Lila had a natural talent for zero-gee ball, much like herself. The two became fast friends, and Lila's confidence grew as Petra guided her.
Petra turned out to have a talent for acting. She played Juliette in the play Ronny and Juliette by Johnny McDowell. Many boys wanted to date her after that, possibly because of her performance.
astro_raj: athletic actress. it’s too much
Meanwhile, Legume and Charlotte learned more about Maia’s operations. Most of her activities were linked to mining, building spaceships, and expanding her base hidden in an asteroid at the edge of the Rim Systems of the Grand Empire. They were joined by a new daughter of Legume called Lorelei also known as Red Bag.
Maia had amassed a fleet of automated mining drones, tirelessly extracting valuable ores and rare minerals. The raw materials were then transported to her hidden base, where they were refined and used for construction.
Maia’s ships were equipped with cutting-edge technology, boasting advanced propulsion systems, stealth capabilities, and formidable weaponry. She had established connections with independent traders, smugglers, and even some disillusioned members of the Grand Empire’s military. These contacts provided her with valuable intelligence, supplies, and occasionally, recruits for her operations.