The news of Solendel Corporation's 'Runic Gate' sent a shockwave across the entire Aetheryon System in less than an hour. The whole world was in a state of shock.
A small, virtually unknown company had, overnight, created a technology that changed the very rules of interstellar travel that had been in place for centuries. The reactions of the people fractured into a thousand different perspectives...
At a spaceport in the "Asphodel Reach" trading hub, a middle-aged merchant dropped his glass the moment he saw the news. "This is an opportunity! If we can ship goods to and from Aerysia in a single day... our costs will be slashed to almost nothing!"
While everyone was still reeling, the image on every screen cut back to the press conference stage... Zen appeared once more, with a smile.
"This is only our first step," he said. "The first gate has opened... and we intend to expand the installation of 'Runic Gates' to all key areas in the Aetheryon System. And of course... everyone can use our gates."
He paused slightly. "A great journey like this naturally comes with a cost... but! With the Tier System we have created, you can use your Tier level to reduce the cost of usage. And for those who contribute to society enough to reach Tier 7: Warden, and above... you will be able to use the 'Runic Gate' for free, for life!"
"And the path to increasing your Tier is not limited to just completing aid missions," Zen smiled slyly. "Everyone can help us... You can bring information about new planets, strange minerals you've encountered on your travels, or anything you think is out of the ordinary, and submit it to Solendel for analysis... You will receive Tier experience as a reward, or you can choose to receive it as credits."
"Come, let's open up a new world... together with us... with the Bio-Sora System."
The image of Zen cut away... replaced by the 'SOLENDEL' logo as a teaser reel of strange and new inventions flashed on screen... weapons inscribed with glowing runes, armor that seemed to have energy flowing through it, and high-tech equipment no one had ever seen before... leaving the viewers across the universe with nothing but questions and wonder.
At a central plaza in Aerysia, where people were watching the broadcast on a giant billboard...
"Incredible! Traveling between stars in just a few minutes!?" "And what was that at the end? Was that armor? Or a new weapon?"
Amidst the buzz, one man standing in the crowd had a thought. "Wait a minute... President Zen said that a higher Tier gives you more access to data from his company... and free use of the gate... I can't fall behind!"
He turned to his friend. "I need to go buy and install a Bio-Sora System right now!"
His words spurred those around him who had overheard. "Hey, that's right... Even if those powered people are scary, if we can hire them through the system, it should be safe." "Yeah, yeah! Let's go check it out!" A new wave of interest had just erupted.
In a secret research lab, Cygnus Dynamics Tower...
"Impossible!" the President of Cygnus shouted, his voice echoing in the room. "We have to know how they did it!"
His head of research reported, his face grim. "We have already attempted to deconstruct the 'Bio-Sora' system, sir... but the result is..."
A hologram projected an image from a sterile operating room... a team of surgeons was using lasers and high-precision robotic arms to slowly peel the 'Bio-Core' from the temple of a test subject...
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The Bio-Core on the man's temple flashed a brilliant red!
Pop!
It "ejected" itself from the temple with incredible speed! And the moment it touched the outside air... it dissolved into a harmless, silvery liquid in the blink of an eye, leaving no trace of its technology to be analyzed.
The President of Cygnus Dynamics collapsed into his chair... he clenched his fists tightly. Solendel hadn't just created a great technology... they had created it as a "black box" whose secrets no one could ever hope to uncover.