Chapter 1: The Signal That Shouldn't Exist
The night the sky spoke back, Aryan Vale was repairing a broken radio.
It was past midnight in Sector-9, the forgotten edge of Neo-Chennai, where old satellites fell from the sky like dying stars and nobody bothered to look up anymore. Aryan sat on the roof of his apartment block, surrounded by wires, cracked circuit boards, and a solar lamp that flickered like it was afraid of the dark.
He loved broken things.
Broken machines told the truth. They didn't pretend to work.
Aryan adjusted the dial of the antique shortwave radio—an illegal device in 2147—when the static suddenly stopped.
Not faded.
Not weakened.
Stopped.
The silence was so sharp it made his heart skip.
Then a voice came through.
> "—If anyone is receiving this… do not trust the Council."
Aryan froze.
The World Council controlled all long-range transmissions. Every signal was monitored, filtered, approved. A free broadcast like this was impossible.
The voice continued, distorted but clear enough to chill his spine.
> "The stars we colonized were never empty. We were invited… and then replaced."
Aryan's fingers trembled. He checked the frequency.
Dead band.
No registered channel.
"This can't be real," he whispered.
The sky above him shimmered—just for a second. A thin blue line split the clouds, like space itself had been scratched open. Aryan had seen holos of warp gates before, but this was different. This looked… wrong. Unstable.
The radio crackled again.
> "Aryan Vale, if you can hear this—run."
His blood went cold.
"How do you know my name?" he shouted at the radio, forgetting there was no one to hear him.
Suddenly, his wrist-com beeped violently. Red warnings flooded the screen.
UNAUTHORIZED SIGNAL DETECTED
SECURITY DRONES DISPATCHED
The Council had found him.
Lights ignited in the sky—three, six, twelve—descending fast. Enforcer drones. Black, silent, merciless.
Aryan grabbed the radio and stuffed it into his bag. He ran down the stairwell two steps at a time, his mind racing faster than his feet.
I didn't do anything wrong.
I just listened.
Outside, the city was awake now. Sirens wailed. Doors slammed shut. People disappeared into shadows, pretending nothing was happening—because surviving meant not being noticed.
Aryan reached the alley behind his building when the air bent in front of him.
The same blue tear from the sky opened again—this time at ground level.
A figure stepped out.
Not human.
Tall, silver-eyed, wearing armor that looked grown rather than built. Its voice echoed directly inside Aryan's mind.
"You heard the signal. That means you are no longer safe."
"Who are you?" Aryan demanded, backing away.
The being tilted its head.
"Your species calls us Exiles. The Council calls us a myth."
A drone burst into the alley, weapons charging.
The Exile raised one glowing hand.
Time stopped.
The drone froze mid-air. Rain hung motionless. Even Aryan's breath felt trapped in his chest.
"Listen carefully, Aryan Vale," the Exile said.
"Humanity is living inside a lie. And you are the variable we did not predict."
The Exile stepped closer.
"Welcome to the war behind the stars."
And then reality shattered.
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End of Chapter 1