[ does mephisto like being thrown into holes? no? well, neither does lu bixing! especially not when they're full of memories.
the one that plays today isn't so bad, though; it could be worse. ]
[ you're standing on a spaceship, and staring at a video screen, surrounded by your students, zhanlu, your father, and of course, lin jingheng, but the man on your screen takes your entire attention.
the face of a man is reflected back at you - ares von, prince cayley. he sneers, this horrible half mechanical, half physical smile - you realize he's on a broadcast to the entire eighth galaxy, and you've tuned in just in time.
"Greetings, to my friends from the Eighth Galaxy. Have you forgotten the face of an old friend? If you have, that's okay. Let me reintroduce myself. I am Prince Cayley. I was betrayed and thrown away by you, the Eighth, a century ago, back from hell. I carry with me the sword of revenge. Are you pleasantly surprised?"
one of your students grabs your sleeve, and starts to tremble.
"My family ruled the Eighth Galaxy for more than sixty years, and fed countless ungrateful pieces of trash, countless parasites. We let you live in your Arcadia, free from the Union's invasion and exploitation. And how did you repay us, my darling subjects? You took in the Union bastards. You betrayed master for nothing but a few bones. You killed my father and brother. You made me flee to extraterritorial space. And until now, my body only exists because I'm supported by scrap metal. How did your years under the Union feel? Did the Union give you freedom and dignity? If you sobbed in pain under a countless siege of gunfire, would the great savior Union come to save you?"
you feel it - a second of utter dread in your stomach as prince cayley laughs, hysterical, bright, and crows, "Let us celebrate our return together!"
the screen erupts in cacophony - a massive set of hyperspace mach 3 mechs aim their cannons at planet cayley, the capital of the eighth galaxy. your father makes a noise beside you, and your eyes widen. that's where you grew up that's -
prince cayley whistles.
hundreds - no, thousands, thousands of missiles burst free from the hyperspace mechs and drop down through the atmosphere on planet cayley, turning a defenseless civilian planet into a a fireball, and in under five seconds - you all watch, as the capital planet is evaporated.
none of you even have time to react before cayley screams into the video, joyful, "Next one!"
and the muzzles of the mech's powerful missile cannons turn and point directly at the north tower planet - at Beijing Beta.
at home. at the starry sea academy and its students. at penny, and the bar sige - lin jingheng owns. at the innocent citizens. at the people of the eighth galaxy, at the planet you applied for citizenship on, at the place you finally settled your roots, the place where your students siblings, families, friends still are. at the cute houses. the city buses that whistle and clank. the machine garbage cans that chatter. the college domes full of pigeons. the old professor who politely waves to all the homeless people. the children who stare at the too bright sun.
and you and your students watch in horror as your home, in a matter of moments, is evaporated into ash, as the screen sh
but the thing is, you have to be the adult, for the four lost children who now stare at you in realization. the four final survivors of beijing beta. the four students who remain of your beloved starry sea academy.
so, as lin jingheng and zhanlu walk away, and your dad starts to get angry, you stay behind.
in the end, you'll be their adult. (to 3:51.) these subtitles suck but prince kelet is prince cayley and the north tower planet is beijing beta ]
for a moment, he's left watching the screen even after it closes off, because - seeing his students that young makes lu bixing's heart just ache. it was so long ago, nostalgic and sort of sweet, and it reminds him of all the things they've been through, since.
he holds his hands against his chest as mephisto speaks up, exhaling out. ]
...Something like that, yeah. [ soft. ] That was a very long time ago.
...The concept of a union of galaxies is a little difficult for most of us to wrap our heads around, I'd wager. Are they all populated with lifeforms similar to your own? Did they spread out from Earth or evolve independently on planets with similar conditions?
[ me sweating in not knowing the answer to this question. im gonna make some shit up char, wherever you are, dont judge me.
anyway. lu bixing makes a little noise, moving his hand to his personal device and tapping something on the screen. a 3D map pops up, projected - the eighth galaxy, a conglomeration of many planets, and then zooming out further, the entire interplanetary union system. the eighth sits at the very edge, and there are long lines that connect each galaxy, except for the eighth, which is marked by what is clearly labeled "the heart of the rose" at the very edge, a simple black swirl where it should be connected to the seventh galaxy before it.
this is something he's terribly nerdy about so this is teacher voice time. ]
A little bit of both. The first intergalactic travel occurred millennia ago - what most of the people here seem to know as their current Earth is ancient, to us. We know it as the capital planet of the First Galaxy now, Wolto. [ the helpful map zooms in on wolto and then back out again, projecting a series of golden lines one by one that move through the traditional nine planets of the ancient earth solar system, and then outwards, to the next galaxy, and spreading out from there. ]
From that planet, the Ancient Earth scientists that discovered the concept of warp technology were able to spread outwards, where they encountered all kinds of life forms - we called that the Second Age of Discovery. Ancient Earth was overcrowded, and people took the opportunity to blaze new trails and find new places to sustain life. Humanity and lifeforms like it have since occupied the majority of the livable planets. The lifeforms that were there in the first place assimilated and combined, so the majority of the Eight Galaxies are those who are human, or something close to it.
[ HELP I'M SORRY YOU COULD HAVE JUST SAID "HE GIVES A DETAILED EXPLANATION" IN BRACKETS AND I WOULD HAVE ACCEPTED IT
anyway, this is... damn. fancy. and a fascinating explanation! he supposes it doesn't seem all that farfetched, with all the advancements he's already seen in his lifetime, though it does leave him wondering about some other logistics. ]
I see! Humans really are something.
[ ...and while they're looking at that screen, another memory starts playing up on the movie screen. certainly different from lu bixing's, but with a few echoes of similarity. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
week 3, tuesday
the one that plays today isn't so bad, though; it could be worse. ]
no subject
My, you've really been living a science fiction drama, haven't you? [ ... ] I suppose I can see why you don't get around to a lot of amusement parks.
no subject
for a moment, he's left watching the screen even after it closes off, because - seeing his students that young makes lu bixing's heart just ache. it was so long ago, nostalgic and sort of sweet, and it reminds him of all the things they've been through, since.
he holds his hands against his chest as mephisto speaks up, exhaling out. ]
...Something like that, yeah. [ soft. ] That was a very long time ago.
no subject
no subject
...Twenty years? Give or take. It was the very beginning of a war that changed the trajectory of our lives.
no subject
[ there's a bit of a smile at... something there. ]
Well, wars do tend to do that.
Did it ever reach a conclusion, or is still ongoing?
no subject
[ he watches the remains of the screen even now, and then shakes his head. ]
...Things didn't really end there. It's like you said. Wars tend to do that. They rarely ever just end.
Our galaxy ended up splitting away from the Union and establishing its own sovereignty.
no subject
no subject
anyway. lu bixing makes a little noise, moving his hand to his personal device and tapping something on the screen. a 3D map pops up, projected - the eighth galaxy, a conglomeration of many planets, and then zooming out further, the entire interplanetary union system. the eighth sits at the very edge, and there are long lines that connect each galaxy, except for the eighth, which is marked by what is clearly labeled "the heart of the rose" at the very edge, a simple black swirl where it should be connected to the seventh galaxy before it.
this is something he's terribly nerdy about so this is teacher voice time. ]
A little bit of both. The first intergalactic travel occurred millennia ago - what most of the people here seem to know as their current Earth is ancient, to us. We know it as the capital planet of the First Galaxy now, Wolto. [ the helpful map zooms in on wolto and then back out again, projecting a series of golden lines one by one that move through the traditional nine planets of the ancient earth solar system, and then outwards, to the next galaxy, and spreading out from there. ]
From that planet, the Ancient Earth scientists that discovered the concept of warp technology were able to spread outwards, where they encountered all kinds of life forms - we called that the Second Age of Discovery. Ancient Earth was overcrowded, and people took the opportunity to blaze new trails and find new places to sustain life. Humanity and lifeforms like it have since occupied the majority of the livable planets. The lifeforms that were there in the first place assimilated and combined, so the majority of the Eight Galaxies are those who are human, or something close to it.
no subject
anyway, this is... damn. fancy. and a fascinating explanation! he supposes it doesn't seem all that farfetched, with all the advancements he's already seen in his lifetime, though it does leave him wondering about some other logistics. ]
I see! Humans really are something.
[ ...and while they're looking at that screen, another memory starts playing up on the movie screen. certainly different from lu bixing's, but with a few echoes of similarity. ]