Human desires are boundless, yearning for the infinite. But in the pursuit of eternity, humanity often teeters on the brink of its own undoing.
—--
The bell of a storefront rang in the middle of a bustling crowd as a boy in his teens poked his head inside the store and slowly looked around.
"Mister Noland?" he called out. The sign on the door read "Open," indicating someone was in, but at first glance he saw no one. Only machines and small metallic contraptions, riddled with dirt and grease stains.
"Yes, Enzo, my boy come on in!" After a few long seconds of scanning the room, an old man rushed out of a backroom, hidden the corner of Enzo's eye and beckoned him forward.
He looked to be in a hurry.
"Heard you have a job for me?" Enzo asked. Seeing the old man grant permission, he stepped inside, pulled off his dusty scarf, revealing black hair and a dirt-stained face, while letting his eyes wander over the store's treasures.
Old Man Noland was an engineer by profession, a normally lucrative profession in fact. Designing and building contraptions and devices was valuable across the board, especially among the wealthy. But with big workshops dominating the market, he had been gradually pushed aside and now catered mostly for the poor.
"Ehhh, yes, yes… I'm in a bit of a bind. I need you to retrieve a Zyserian crystal from Zyria. Two days' time is good, yes?" Noland explained as he led Enzo toward the back of the shop and down a flight of stairs.
"Ahhh, same old, same old, I see," Enzo said with a smile. He could've sworn he'd done this exact mission on this exact planet more than nine times this month alone.
"No, it's not the same…" Noland smiled bitterly. For the other missions, he'd paid the kid a measly few hours, but this time it was two whole days. That meant it was much more dangerous.
In the year 2100, humanity had discovered how to prolong life using weave technology from WeaveTech, technology that tapped into the essence of human gene construction. However, despite being a groundbreaking discovery, it placed humanity on a fast track to its own downfall.
The population exploded. Food became scarce. Most had to leave Earth to ease the burden, but eventually, society collapsed. Wars, nuclear fallout, and the fight for survival marked the event people would call the Doom.
But humanity endured.
"What do you mean… wait, two days?" As if the weight of it had just landed, Enzo frowned.
To prevent humanity from repeating its mistakes, WeaveTech had limited the use of its technology. Immortality was no longer for sale.
No, immortality was gone. But time was not.
With the effects of nuclear fallout and radiation, the average human life expectancy had fallen to twenty years. For a boy like Enzo, that meant death in about five years.
It was a tragedy. But WeaveTech had it's plans. With their technology, they could extend lifespans for those who could afford it.
Time itself became a commodity and they were its only supplier.
"Yes, two days," Noland confirmed. Two days was a lot for a simple mining operation. There was definitely a catch.
"Okay, come clean, old swindler," Enzo said, folding his arms as they stepped into the basement. This wasn't the first time the old man had sent him into danger with vague instructions. He wanted details this time, He was too young to die.
Gritting his teeth, Noland removed his scarf and hung it on a rack.
"The Finor Mine on Zyria has closed down after a massive collapse; all mining activity has shifted to the Yuno Mine," he said, tension in his voice.
The room fell into silence for a brief moment then..
"What the hell, old man? Are you trying to get me killed again? I'm not going to the Yuno Mine! That place is crawling with beasts, there's no way I'm going there." Enzo nearly blew a hydrogasket. That place was a death trap for low-level guys like him. He'd sooner die than succeed there.
"At least… not for two days' pay," he added with a cold and pretentious smile.
"Ohhh, so you mean three days is good?" Noland beamed and pulled out a steel card with 72 etched on it.
The kid was a well-known daredevil. At his age, he had no real reason to take odd jobs like this and probably did it for the thrill of it. But of course, in truth that was only part of it.
"Three days… make it four, and I'll throw in an extra shard of Zyserian crystals," Enzo said, grinning as he tried to tempt the old man.
"Four days, my ass. Just get it done." Noland stuffed the steel card into his pocket.
"Haha, okay, old man," Enzo said bitterly, then stepped toward a metallic pod with a strange bedframe design. He took off his shirt.
They called him Daredevil. But was he really just in it for the thrill? Of course not. Like everyone else, he was doing it for a better and longer life.
He climbed into the pod, laid down, and watched as it closed around him. A wave of drowsiness pulled him under.
[Consciousness detected]
[Preparing interplanetary weave]
His body grew numb as his soul drifted into a transcendent state, slipping through time and space…
Planets, stardust, and clusters of strange light invaded his mind in a split second. Then, before he knew it….
"Haaaa…" He gasped with a deep breath and his eyes snapped open inside a similar but different pod, light-years away from Earth.
[Weave complete]
[Congratulations on a successful weave! Welcome to Planet Zyria]