Playing the Stars with the Gods

"When you open your eyes again, you'll be truly yourself."

In the year 2335, humanity joined the Pan-Galactic Civilization Alliance as an "anomalous variable."

The starship RTV-1, carrying a new generation of explorers, glided into a starry expanse woven from the rules of advanced civilizations.

Among them was an out-of-place "block of wood" named Zhen Xu.

"Is this your civilization's idea of a sincere offer to cooperate?"

At the Blackstone System's Tribunal, Chaos Pendulum Industries leveled a cold accusation. In the fading afterglow of an exploding planet, Zhen Xu remained calm.

Kou Xingye, humanity's youngest councilor, looked up from his seat.

His gaze crossed the chaos and met the young man's vacant eyes without a word.

His skillful maneuvering bought their civilization room to breathe.

The price was: "Zhen Xu, for now, you'll stay by my side."

As they spent day after day together, ink marks finally stained the blank page.

"You learn quickly," Kou Xingye said. "When I designed you, all I wanted was a perfect 'key.'"

He turned and asked the question that burned at the heart of rationality:

"Now that you know about weakness, injustice, and darkness, are you still willing to stake your 'perfect' existence on humanity as it is?"

In the depths of his consciousness, where the "Protocol Zero" was locked away, came the faint sound of ice cracking.

Zhen Xu finally understood a sigh, tasted the mark of rust, and sensed the weight of that gaze.

He walked toward the figure who, with nothing but a mortal's intellect, had navigated the starry sea and shouldered the civilization's last sliver of hope.

"Kou Xingye, from now on, I'll bear the emotional part."

"I'll share the weight of this starry sky with you."

[From a blueprint of absolute rationality, they learn to feel their hearts beat.

From the altar of civilization's heavy burden, they learn to love.

Side by side, they see the first glimmer of dawn measure out the endless night.]

Theme: May human civilization and freedom endure forever. Live in the face of death