Chapter 134 The Fermi Paradox

"Just before we reach Earth's upper atmosphere, we will break apart. They have less than an hour left, but it looks like the big boys have shown up," I said as I watched the two massive creatures on the overview.

"Daniel! Beltzer here! Eight of us are on our way to help your people! Hellyle, like Gravois, wouldn't listen; they are headed to your Central City!"

"You were able to convince the others?" I asked, surprised that so many had decided to join; I was a little suspicious.

"There was nothing to convince other than Pyke, he was a tough one to crack, but he saw reason in the end. We all see what we have done wrong, but we can't stop the other two alone; they are too powerful!" Beltzer explained, and I nodded to myself.

"What he says is true. Gravois and Hellyle are both at level five, but I am not sure how they became so powerful. The last time I checked on them before you came up, both were only level three," Octavia explained, but then ice ran through my veins as I felt something I had never felt before.

I turned around, and there was a boy that looked to be about ten years old, but he was glowing white. There was almost no detail to the form; it was without sex, but something felt familiar.

"Hello, little brother," the child said, smiling at me.

"Little brother? Octavia, do you…?" I asked but trailed off when I looked at Octavia's frozen form.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt her. I just want to talk with you for now. My existence should not ever be spoken of, so it is better if she does not see me," the child explained.

"Just who or what are you? You called me little brother, but I don't have parents," I said, and the child nodded.

"That is because I created you in my image. You are still human for all those concerned, but your creativity and control are slowly growing gifts from me. They have been waiting for you and my very good friend to meet. I am Star Child, but I do not speak my name out loud. To do so would bring calamity to you and your world," Star Child explained.

"Calamity? Like the other three races that will all be here in less than a year? Who is this friend that you are talking about?" I asked all kinds of confused.

This child pops out of nowhere as I am about to go save my world just to tell me that I'm not human?

"You can get away from them since you have a plan, right?" Star Child asked.

"Yes, but it involves fighting for the next year to get the planet moving. I have completed all the designs, but I am concerned about whether they will even work. Something like this should be impossible, but I have been doing unbelievable things since I got this System," I said, scrubbing my hand over my face.

I had the plan drawn out, and the impossible did look possible. If it didn't work, the world would be destroyed by what was coming.

"It will work. Nothing is impossible unless you believe it is, even intergalactic peace. I have yet to achieve it, but I am walking the road with small feet and have been doing it alone for too long. I don't think you will do it any time soon. Considering how long I have been working at it, this is not an easy job, but I have set everything up for you," Star Child explained.

"Do I even want to know how long you have been trying?" I asked, and Star Child shook his head with a sad smile.

"I have been planning for over seven million years just to create the perfect setup for you to be able to succeed when I couldn't. To really understand my journey's length, I have watched Tiamat and Alpha kill each other both one time. This is not important right now, and we will talk again when you have completed your World Engine," Star Child explained, but I frowned.

"Then what did you actually come here for? Has to be more than just a meet and greet. Someone like you doesn't seem like the type just to drop by for tea," I said, and the glowing child nodded.

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"I have some to talk to you about your Progenitor System and Omega, my old friend. You know him as Orphus, but his real name is Omega, the Progenitor System," Star Child explained, and I frowned.

"You mean my Evergrowth System? A progenitor is someone that creates, right? I have created a lot with the System, but the name seems better suited since I help people and things grow, right?" I asked but knew that I was missing something.

"Omega is the father of all other Systems, but none of them know that. Omega can not tell anyone about his power as part of his design. I have to create some fail-safes, or he wouldn't have gotten this far, and this planet has always been my target. Your planet's size is small, so generating heat won't be a problem," Star Child explained, but I nodded.

"Are you saying this System was designed to… make new ones? Where does it draw its power from? There has to be something that gives it power, right?" I asked, perplexed.

"Yes, and this is why I know that you will be able to survive with all your people and the AI that were born from your system. I am sure that you think they must be horrible, right?" Star Child asked me, and I wasn't sure how to answer.

"Something tells me I don't know enough to answer you properly. The AI has been pillaging planets, taking the systeminium, and moving on from what I can tell," I said, and Star Child nodded.

"I have been actively guiding them from planet to planet. The universe is not a friendly place, and you would be surprised to know that most of it are fighting. Your race should have been in trouble, but the two races that lived in the same galaxy as you destroyed each other's planets. The two planets had never even talked; one just chose to fire special long-range rods that pierced the planet. The other sent a device that created a black hole beside the planet when they identified the rods flying at them," Star Child explained with no expression in his voice.

This seemed to be a sore subject for this Astral Being, and I could understand that it could be hard to watch over and over. Still, they could fire rockets but not send a message?!

"Why did they attack first? Couldn't they at least try to talk?" I asked, but Star Child shook his head, seeming frustrated.

"Both space-faring races, but none can use any form of distant space travel. The leader of a race name that is not something you want to hear was a lunatic. I can't repeat it without changing my body, and your mouth can't make the noises. The leader ordered them to attack when the planet was discovered. This seems to be the destination of all races across the cosmos. It is only a matter of time before they tear themselves apart. You know that your people were on the same route. It is almost like a universal law at this point," Star Child explained, seeming tired.

"We call that the Fermi Paradox here, a theory introduced in nineteen fifty. One of the concepts is that civilizations must be destroying themselves at some point if we haven't seen any trace of them. The thing is that I am sure that we have had other races visit our planet many times. There is no way that they are all destroying each other," I said.

"There are many other races on your planet, but many are refugees, secretly brought by The Gray. People that you call litter gray or green men," Star Child explained, and I frowned.

"You mean those little bastards that abduct people?" I asked, and Star Child nodded.

"Yes, they are forceful, but your people have very mutable DNA. Humans have been used to repopulate many worlds, even if they might not be human after the editing. The Gray are watchers that try to keep balance like me, but you might consider some of their methods… unethical, to say the least. Regardless, they are very good at what they do," Star Child explained, still smiling. "I haven't talked to someone since Omega, and it is nice."

"Glad that you feel that way, and I would be fine with doing it again if you want, but I need to know how to use the System properly," I said, and Star Child walked over to me.

"Omega will teach you, and I will unlock your System so you can use it to your fullest intents, but I must leave. I have to go speak to my old friend," Star Child said, then moved to placed a hand on my chest.

I couldn't have moved if I wanted to, my body was frozen, and then Star Child's hand touched me. The moment that it did, everything that I had thought I knew was scoured away as I finally understood what my people and I were now capable of.

Any limits or constraints on possibility were shattered and replaced with a new way of thinking. It was time to start to get ready to create a space-faring planet.

Once the planet was ready, we would fold space in half to jump to the center of a black hole and out somewhere else from a white hole. How we were going to do all this now was just a matter of finding the right people and giving them the right power.

First, I had to deal with a problem that felt like a joke now, in the grand scheme of things. I could stop them now, but I would like to see everyone work together to overcome differences.

"So, you are going to leave them to their own devices?" Star Child asked me after removing his hand, and I nodded.

"They need to figure things out, and everyone needs to see them work together. I will, of course, make sure that no one gets hurt badly," I said, and Star Child nodded with a knowing smile but then gave me a severe look.

"My last parting advice to you is to make sure that you kill the ones they are fighting. There is a reason why they are portrayed as the final Villains. They are marked, and if you let their consciousness survive, you will never know rest, and it will spell doom for all that you protect," Star child said and then sunk into the floor, leaving me with a heavy piece of advice.