Valian's Chronicles

Him - Chapter One

SOMEWHERE WITHIN THE KNOWN UNIVERSE

The black void and the silence seemed endless. If it weren't for the tiny blinking lights passing by while one is roving the universe one would think they've been sucked into a black hole full of nothingness. Some of those colourful tiny fireflies were worlds full of bustling life but there was no way for one to know that just by looking at them from a distance.

Truth is the universe could never be quiet and lifeless, which I learned the very first time I left my planet. Rather it was full of life, life in different forms and shapes. One could never be sure the rock they see in the distance is a rock and the little paddle on a newly discovered planet is a paddle.

There were billions of suns and planets nesting comfortably across the void, some circling together in a slow and gentle dance, others viciously trying to destroy each other as the end of their life nears. Black holes scattered across the space just like invisible monsters eating everything that's coming their way. Once you get trapped you could never get away.

Still, the most peculiar sight within the known universe was the nebulae. It is true that when passing by one, not too close not too far, you can see it with the naked eye but it is not as bright and colourful as one would expect from a so-called 'beauty of the universe'.

In reality what you see are dull, grey patches and some faint colours, however, the commercial-minded huynaes (all living sentient creatures) have already solved this issue by designing special goggles called NebulaeHighResolution Visio (unknown to Earthers till recently). They were more commonly known as NiHais among the young and the tekkies, these goggles use infrared, ultraviolet, malleriaan and darkrays filters altogether. [[malleriaan - technology that detects 'void'; darkrays - technology that detects dark energy]].

That peculiar tech was originally developed for deep space scientific research but it has found its usefulness in the commercial field too, thus I can enjoy the view today.

I thought only humans were in the habit of making money out of anything they could get their hands on. Evidently, this money-making feature is common to all sentient beings across the universe.

Anyway, the view is incredibly beautiful. I have never witnessed something so vast and lively. It makes one have the desire to go outer space and dive into this alluring bewitchery... unaware of the dangers awaiting.

Time passes quicker when there is some entertainment to keep the mind busy. It's been weeks since we boarded. Although there were over 40 different huynaes within the Ambassador's Committee of newly joining species and around 15 Junior Council members to welcome and accompany the latter, it only took 2 weeks to catch up on who is who. Everyone politely did a basic introduction to own culture, habits, customs, family, and what was it like when they joined the UUA [United Universe Alliance] then boredom took over and awkwardness followed shortly.

At least I had the opportunity to learn why humans stood out among other underdeveloped species when the last Initiation & Acceptance Applications (I&A) were undertaken. All these buzzing new members reminded me of the gossip columns in the yellow papers we had back on Earth. These gossips had a solid base... just a little more exaggerated.

Though, it was news to me to learn that it was the two founding species whose interest was pinned on humans during the application process. Last week at dinner someone mentioned that quite a few Council members were impressed by how strong-willed, inventive and stubbornly persuasive humans are and how their application put the entire UUA Council in a big dilemma because the two founding species nearly enforced the application.

The outcome was the Humans' I&A case became a precedent for future revision of the I&A Directives. The I&A Directives were mainly focused on tech development and species evolution and paid less attention to the character because if one species evolved to a level where they'd focus on their wellbeing rather than domination over each other then their character is good enough.