Chapter 7: The Aragarians

"Where are you taking us, Zeek?" Meryl had a confused look as Seeker was navigating them into an unknown lot around a complex they have never been to.

"I told you. We'll have our own personal hang out space. This place beats hanging about in the school grounds."

"But why would your uncle give this to you?" Lynd gave a confused stare.

The trio arrived at a duplex building. Seeker went up and rang the doorbell and waited.

"Seeker?" A voice called out. The door opened to reveal a tall brutish, and bearded man who you would never mistake for a doctor.

"Charles. Nice place you got here." Seeker smiled at Charles. Only Charles could see the devil behind the grin.

"Doctor Charles Lindmitt!" Meryl and Lynd chorused.

"And this must be Meryl and Lynd. I've heard about you from my dear nephew."

"Zeek! You're related to him?!" A surprised cry of Lynd voiced over. Seeker gave a quick nod to affirm.

"Anyways, come inside. I got the place ready for you." Charles chuckled over the innocence of Seeker's friends. Who would expect this peculiar unbecoming human to have such average teenage friends?

The duplex offered a well-decorated, minimalistic space with a surprisingly spacious area that hosted all the necessary gym equipment for a bodybuilder. There were metal bars and large boxes of all sizes that were used for parkour or gymnastics.

A lounge area was seen on the second floor of the building. The party headed over to the second floor, and an array of snacks and drinks awaited them. A high-quality gaming computer was available with a large screen T.V. used as its monitor. Lynd nearly drooled at the sight of the machines set up. This was a realm that casual gamers like him could never reach.

"Not bad, Doctor." Seeker gave a smile impressed at the hospitality and preparation made for them.

"Anything for my dear nephew." Charles melancholically smiled back. What does it take to truly impress this little rascal?

"I wish to speak with my dear nephew privately. Just the ground rules to this little hideout of yours."

Charles walked downstairs, and Seeker followed.

"I hope this is to your liking. This is all the equipment that should be going to MY gym! Because of this, I probably won't open the gym until the end of the year!"

"A rich guy like you? I'm sure you have no sponsors or partners to let down." Seeker chuckled.

"Alright, Seeker. This time I want the truth. I took a look at the file you compiled last night. Adding to what I can see at the various test results of your brain, I'm inclined to believe that you are indeed on that "Unbecoming" stage. But what I want to know is, who are you exactly? The level of scientific technologies listed on that rough file looked like it was a century ahead in the future! I've had my guesses, and all I could think of is that you are an alien stuck on this planet. I'm prepared to believe anything, so tell me."

"Looks like the file convinced you." Seeker gave a relaxed smile.

"This makes things easier to explain. So what do you think of the draft I made for the Thought Transmitter?"

"That was pure science fiction. At least that's what I would say yesterday. But looking at the other files, you sent me, if the Unlocking is possible, then the Thought Transmitter should also be plausible. But what I'm more concerned about is who you are than the inventions you have. Answer that first, and I can trust whatever you say afterward."

"The reason I asked you about the Thought Transmitter is that it might explain who I am. I am Seeker Carlean. Born and raised in New Pangea town of the Phil-Pangea Islands of the A.U. Nations. Fifteen years of age and all the data you might have gathered from me ought to be true. However, I am also Seeker Carlean of the Thirteenth Brigade, promoted to be General of the Stellar Armies. A Six Star general by all accounts and a Ranked Hero based on the Unlocking Level. You see Charles, I am what you might call a Reincarnator."

"A reincarnator?"

"One who has lived life to his dying breath, and by some twist of faith, I reincarnated back to my younger years."

Charles gave a scrutinizing stare to Seeker. "I was ready for alien life forms or a secret America experiment, but that was totally unexpected."

Seeker laughed.

"I share your sentiments. It's been two whole days, and I still question whether I am real or not. To clarify, I am not exactly a reincarnator, but I inherited the memories of my future self. Five years from now, humanity will answer an age-old question that they have asked for so long. 'Are we alone?' And the answer is that we are not. Another race of aliens that share the same genetic makeup, biological features, and they basically anything that makes us human exist somewhere out there in the stars. They have known our existence for quite some time. But they choose to keep silent and ignore all our calls because they want us to remain ignorant of their life."

"An alien race that is exactly like humans?"

"Apparently, we are not the only 'humans' in this universe."

"Interesting. Another human race. So they aren't as different from as we'd once imagined. Well, at least I was partially right. You are involved in some intergalactic war." Charles gave an intrigued smile.

"Yes. We of Earth, fighting the invasion of the Aragarians."

"So, what exactly do these Aragarians want?"

"Our planet. You see, they have lived about a couple of hundred years longer than us on a planet bigger than ours. Planet Aragar is similar to Earth in terms of its composition, atmosphere, and so on. They are on the edge of extinction. They have reaped the consequences of their actions. Global Warming in Aragar could have been reaching critical levels. The pollution there might have halved the average lifespan of the weaker or less fortunate members of that race. Some could easily overcome it... but their culture, their system of governance, and their life as a whole are very different than ours. While they have the technology to resolve these issues, they choose not to. They want their race to struggle. So to those who do not have the means, they suffer. Imagine all those environmental warnings that we've been talking about."

"What a strange world. So some of them are looking for a new home?"

"Either that or a temporary place to move their residents while some of them execute the plans of terraforming their planet. So they relocate temporarily while the scientists of their planet execute the terraforming plans to help return their planet to a green and livable planet. Of course, these plans would make them leave their home planet for an uninhabited place."

"So they tried to reach out to us, and we refused to welcome their people? Kinda rude of us, don't you think?"

"They never asked. If their full population moves to Earth, then they have another problem."

"I see. This planet ain't big enough for both of us?" Charles realized.

"Exactly. Besides, they see us like cattle. One has to go. Hence a war will begin in the next five years."

"Five years? So they'll be arriving within five years?

"No. They will arrive at the fifth year of that war. The war that is to come is a world war on our planet."

Charles was lost in thoughts.

"Are you saying that they instigated this war, in order to make us kill each other? And after we fought, they arrived to reap the rewards?"

"Most likely. They might have even instigated the previous world war. They have people on key political, government, and even commercial sectors. Who knows how long they've been here? The Aragarians were very careful. They did their best to minimize the cost of their actions. They promised some world leaders a place in their utopia. With their tech, they could have conquered us. But it would have cost them an astronomical amount of resources and a lot of lives. So they made ways for us to be weakened. Divided us, made us go against each other. And then they arrived and conquered."

"So, we were at the brink of extinction?" Charles gave a grim stare.

"We were. However, they made a big mistake." Seeker smiled.

"They underestimated us. They had the technology and the means to kill us, but they weren't willing to spend the cost to reach that goal. They ordered the many nations that allied with them to kill us. But that gave us time. At a turning point, they decided to step in. They had the numbers, they were united, they were many. But that was exactly why they lost."

"I don't follow."

"Earthling desperation ushered in a new era for us. When several nations betrayed humanity and us, who remained, faced extinction, a technology that they couldn't imagine was opened right in our eyes. And you have been looking at that technology all night Doc."

"The Unlocking!"

"Exactly. At the brink of extinction, humans unlocked the last chains that bound their limitations. The Unlocking made men of renown. We had warriors that could dive in a war zone and halve the enemy army before dying. We raised Heroes that won nations back to humanity. And we had World Champions that managed to save the Earth multiple times. It was something that even their technology couldn't stop."

Charles gulped a mouthful of saliva. What he was looking at was the future of his works. And it was that very research that saved humanity.

"It's funny how you concern yourself of who I am, Charles. The truth is, my very existence right now of knowing the future is nothing compared to your worth in the future."