Chapter One

Like every morning, Atlas wakes up to a spectrum of colourful lights dotting his vision. Emerald Green dots suspended in the air, Lime Green dots floating around the various plants his mother keeps in his room and the Aquamarine dots that are flowing out of the air conditioning vent in the floor.

For the first five years of his life, Atlas enjoyed looking for different coloured light dots. Noticing that some colours stood out in different environments and areas, Atlas started to realize that they represented something more than simply existing dots of light and being whatever colour they happened to be.

By the age of four he counted a total 10 different coloured lights, however, he knew that there were probably more colours out there that he hadn’t seen before.

And at the age of five an even more terrifying truth was brought to young Atlas’ attention.

In a 1st year elementary classroom, a young boy no older than five stood in front of the entire class of twenty other five year olds. With a drawing that he drew to describe what he did over the summer break before school had started, the young boy describes for the first time out loud what exactly he had seen and how he depicted it in the drawing.

“—and that’s how I knew that Mama was bleeding, because I could see the crimson red dots that stuck to the cut on her arm. The good thing was—”

Interrupting the five year olds story, Mrs. Clark starts to tell the student and his peers that this presentation was only supposed to be about things that actually occurred during the summer break. “Mr. Hardison, I distinctly recall telling the class that for this project they were supposed to draw a picture of an event that happened during their summer before the start of school. So could you leave out any facts that aren’t real and stick to only the truth if you could, please?”

Seeing the look, which only now the boy realizes, that both his teacher and fellow classmates are showing towards him. Atlas continues his summer project to the class with the omission of the light dots that even at this moment he could see floating, flowing, sticking and surrounding everything around him.

Finishing his report, Atlas moved towards his seat and stares around the classroom watching the coloured light dots that have spotted his vision as long as he could remember. By the end of the class, the five year old Atlas came to the conclusion that he could indeed see different colour light dots, however, it would seem that no one else could.

Before coming to any kind of reasoning behind this, that a five year old could reach, Mrs. Clark motioned for Atlas to come over and talk privately with her for a minute.

“Now Mr. Hardison, I hoped that you have realized the mistake you made in your project. And I will give you until tomorrow to redraw the picture with a written version of the story that goes along with it. Although your overall grade will be reduced due to your earlier error, let that be a lesson about only stating the truth and sticking to the facts when presenting anything in the future.”

Finished with what Mrs. Clark wanted to say to her student without even waiting for him to confirm that he understood what she had said, she gestured for him to procced to his next class.

In the Lunar Alliance, children start their mandatory education at the age of three in a preschool and graduate into elementary school at the age of five. The reasoning behind this is that one of the main mandates established by the Lunar Alliance is the advancement of knowledge to the point where there is no such thing as the unknown.

Taking up one third of known space in the Starlight Galaxy, the Lunar Alliance is the second biggest ruling body in the galaxy. The first being the Solaris Empire and last would be Stars Hollow.

The Solaris Empire was the first governing body to be established across the Starlight Galaxy and takes up a half of known space currently. The Empire is ruled by the Solaris Emperor and his wife, the Solaris Empress. Following an imperial-style governing system, they have a firm belief that one’s bloodline and pedigree will lead them to future glory and fame. Only those of higher status are allowed access to the luxuries produced by the empire.

The Lunar Alliance however branched off from the empire when many people from the lower classes and bloodlines got tired of not being able to accomplish the same feats as someone from a noble bloodline due to their origins. So a thousand years after the establishment of the Solaris Empire a civil war broke out. Taking a total of 300 years before a peace treaty was established between the Empire and what would later be called the Lunar Alliance.

Gaining their freedom the Lunar Alliance established various mandates that would help them pursue knowledge regardless of their origins. Still having the class system installed in the government from the empire, the Alliance managed to form a council that would rule the territory that they govern but in a different way. They gave their people the chance to advance in their social standings by simply contributing to the prosperity and continue existence of the Alliance, whether it was through technological advancement, breakthroughs in medicine, military accomplishments or exploration into the unknown.

Even though the class system from the previous ruling body existed, the meaning behind each rank of status could grow through the years and generations.

Looking out the window, a young Atlas takes in the sight of Polaris City. Which is located on Planet Lunavarra in the Omega System of the Starlight Galaxy.

A streak of grey dots crosses young Atlas’ vision when a hovercar passes by. Continuing to watch the hovercar move into the distance, he wonders when and why he’s the only person to seemingly be able to see the colour light dots. Having asked his mother when he got back from school the same day he presented his project, his mother told him basically the same thing that his teach had. They could not see any of the colour dots floating, flowing, sticking or surrounding them.

He even looked up the phenomenon on the GalaxyWeb hoping to find an answer, sadly he could on close the browser of GalaxyWeb in disappointment. None of the sites that he was told to look at if he had a question about something that was beyond the knowledge of those around him had anything.

Deciding that he’ll leave this problem to future Atlas, young Atlas vows to himself that he’ll never make the same mistake as he did during his summer project presentation. And moves away from the window to his desk to once again draw out his summer project, followed by an omitted version of what occurred.

The following months are filled with young Atlas attending elementary school and going to the local parks with his parents. With all the activity that has been introduced to his daily life, young Atlas failed to notice that the colour light dots that surrounded him wouldn’t pass thorough him like they would for everyone else. Instead they were slowly absorbed into his body.

Given enough time major changes happened in young Atlas body, his minor irregularity in his blood vessels that was discovered in the first couple of hours after his birth, started to shed a layer of what looked like the skin of blood vessels. In truth these were his mana veins that were granted to him for his past selves accomplishments. With the mana veins finally separating from his blood vessels, the absorption rate of the surrounding mana started to increase.

Until one afternoon, young Atlas was on a camping trip with his parents and a couple of their friends. Deciding that none of the other children that were brought alone would be friendly towards him, he took off into the woods surrounding the campsite for some adventure.

Three days ago his mana veins had completely separated from his blood vessels, shrinking them to the regular size for a boy his age. And since then, they started to fill up with mana. Thirty minutes into his trek into the woods, a sudden pain started to throb from both his brain and heart. Collapsing on the forest floor, the throbbing pain that originated from both his head and heart started to flow along the newly made mana veins. Strengthening the mana veins as the newly absorbed mana flowed through them like blood in the various veins, arteries and capillaries.

Two hours after young Atlas collapsed onto the forest floor, his parents managed to find him covered in a stinky black sludge while passed out on the forest floor. Notifying search and rescue about them finding their five year old son, paramedics rushed to the location to treat any injuries.

Arriving at the nearest hospital, the paramedics rushed the young boy into the emergency quarantine wing along with the boy’s parents. Whatever the black sludge was, was biological in nature but none of their scanning equipment managed to conclusively determine what it was. All the information the scanners sent back were list upon lists of different fluids and tissue pieces that are common found in the human body. Not knowing if the black sludge was harmful in anyway, they called the hospital before hand to notify them that they were going under quarantine until the black sludge could be identified as safe.

In the second area of the quarantine zone that Mr. and Mrs. Hardison were escorted too by the paramedics. The pair watched as their five year old son was separated by a sheet of thick sterilized plastic being laid down on a hospital bed. One of the senior doctors was called in to exam the unconscious young Atlas. Covered in the standard quarantine gear the senior doctor starts to exam the patient, while the nurse who is also in the standard quarantine gear starts to take samples of the black sludge from various points on the boy’s body before cleaning off the black sludge and places it, along with his ruined cloths, in a specialized bag.

Once the nurse dressed the boy in a new medical gown, the senior doctor started the basic scanning machines that were placed into the room before the arrival of the boy. A blue stained glass half tube descends from above the boy, until it fully covers the top of the bed. Moving to the end of the bed where the white holographic screen appear, the doctor starts the scanning process.

Various colours of light sweep the body of the boy, each colour representing a different type of scan. A total of 32 scans took place over a thirty minute period before a white holographic screen once again appeared before the senior doctor.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

[Scanning Process has been completed.]

[A total of 32 different scans were completed.]

[The following is a summary of the results.]

[Patient: Atlas Hardison] [Gender: Male] [Age: 5 years old]

[P.O.B: Polaris City, Planet Lunavarra, Omega System, Starlight Galaxy]

[Initial Scans #1-15: Increased heart rate, due to overexerting]

[Intermediate Scans #1-10: Minor muscle damage, due to overexerting]

[Final Scans #1-7: Blood Vessels have decreased in size, due to unknown reasons]

Looking at the results displayed by the white holographic screen in front of him, the senior doctor concluded that nothing life threatening had occurred to the five year old boy. Besides the decrease in the blood vessels size that the doctor at the boys’ birth concluded would decrease in size later on in his life anyways. The only thing that concerned the doctors was that the decrease in size was from unknown reasons.

During the time that the machine was scanning the boy, the nurse brought the various samples of the black sludge into the third area of the quarantine zone that was used from analyzing biological material. Handing them to the lab technician, he begins that various procedures available to identify the black sludge.

Four hours later, the quarantine lab technician concluded that the black sludge was non-toxic and that it was not harmful to either the boy or any who interacted with it. Letting the boy’s parents break passed the thick sterilized plastic sheet that has been separating them from their beloved child for what felt like eternity. The couple gently embrace their child and the mother finally breaks out in tears from both the fear of having her son being in this situation and relief from being allowed to finally see her son.

Behind the couple stood the senior doctor, who the couple got to know as Dr. Zharbin, watching the parent’s display of affection towards their child and deciding that they needed some time before he told them the results of all the scans done on the boy and the black sludge since they entered the hospital.

Minutes passed as the father finally managed not only to calm himself down but also his wife. Turning towards Dr. Zharbin, the father asks the simplest of questions, “Doctor… How… How is my son?” A pained smile finished off the question. Seeing that the senior doctor decided that he wouldn’t gloss over anything, they deserved all the facts.

“Well Mr. Hardison, the black sludge that covered your son forced the paramedic upon the inconclusive results of their scanning devices to bring your son in under quarantine protocol. Following that you were brought in too, since you also came into contact with the black sludge before it was determined to be non-hazardous.”

“Now, a total of 32 scans were done on your son and various other tests were run on the black sludge samples that were collected by the attending nurse. The 32 scans only detected the following: an increase in heart rate due to overexerting and minor muscle damage due to overexerting. And lastly a decrease in the size of his blood vessels.”

Pausing there to let himself take a breath and for the parents to absorb all that he has said. He took another breath before continuing on when he saw that the parents were ready for the next part.

“In the initial scan that your son underwent the day he was born, the scan then detected that his blood vessels were marginally larger than the average size for a baby his size. However, for some reasons unknown the size of his blood vessels are now the average size for a boy his age and size.”

For the first time in what felt like forever, a smile blossomed on the mother’s face. Her child experience something out in the woods that resulted in him over excursing himself and being covered in black sludge. Yet he’s in good health and all that the doctors and medical devices could find was that his minor irregularity had disappeared. How could she not smile! Her freckled face turn towards her husband and saw that he was also smiling with that big goofy grin of his.

Seeing the couple’s positive reactions, he continued onto the black sludge results.

“So the black sludge that was recovered and cleaned from you son’s body was tested in the quarantine lab in area three. The technician on duty has concluded that the black sludge is a result from the boy’s body discharging a large quantity of impurities from various parts of his body. Now we do not know why his body has discharged these impurities, however, we do know that they are not hazardous know that they have been expelled from his body. As the attending doctor, I have concluded that the increased heart rate and minor muscle damage that were due to overexerting were a result of his body dispelling these impurities. Sadly, I cannot determine what caused his body to discharge these impurities in the first place.”

Dr. Zharbin once more glanced at the boy laying down on the hospital bed and thought, ‘What a loving and understanding family this boy has’. Turning his attention back to the boy’s parents, he started speaking once again.

“When Atlas wakes up we can inquiry more about what happened to him around the time the incident took place. Maybe we get an answer from his explanation of events that led up to the incident. But until then, I have other matters that require my attention at the moment. If you excuse me.”

With that Dr. Zharbin left the family in the quarantined hospital room.

During the period Atlas was unconscious, to the rest of world that’s all there was but to Atlas so much more was happening.

Waking up to a rainbow filled sky and ground, flecks of coloured light dots flow through the still body of Atlas. Noticing the familiar coloured light dots made him relax after seeing the rainbow of the world around him. Minutes passed as he watched the colour light dots flow through his body like it was the most natural thing to do. Every colour he’d seen and more were present in this rainbow world, some colours he could not even identified as colours in the first place flowed through him like all the others. And yet he never questioned where he was, his five year old brain just accepted it. Colours swirled in the distance and disappeared as quickly as they appeared.

Hours passed and young Atlas started to finally worry. It was great that nothing was happening to him but where are his mommy and daddy? Looking into the distance like he had for the past while, he saw a larger looking swirl slowly coming towards him. Seeing as Atlas noticed the larger swirl, its pace increased and left a five year old boy frozen in place.

Finally the large swirl reached Atlas and exploded, like fireworks, right in front of him. Various colour light dots scattered then shot towards him. Attacking him like a geyser of water breaching the earth, the colour light dots merged into his body violently. Pained surged in the five year old boy and then there were no more colours just darkness once again.

Alarms blared in the quarantine room where young Atlas and his parents were, Dr. Zharbin dropped what he was doing and rushed to the room. On the way there he was notified by the hospital’s A.I. that Atlas had gone into cardiac arrest. Dr. Zharbin was confused, why would a seemingly healthy boy suddenly go into cardiac arrest? A permission prompt floated in his vision asking for his consent to start the procedures towards the situation. Giving his consent, Dr. Zharbin knew that he wouldn’t make it in time to do it manually.

Atlas was in a quarantine room and hospital, plus quarantine, guidelines indicated that any procedures related to a patients’ wellbeing were to be done by the attending physician manually or with the attending physician’s consent for the procedures to start automatically. Other hospital rooms are all automatic when the patients’ health is at risk.

The hospitals machines finished what they had been programmed to do as a running Dr. Zharbin finally came into the room. Noticing that the boy was back to normal, he proceeded to the scanners in the room and started another round of scans on the boy.

Noticing a teared smeared mother and the father of the boy hugging her against the far wall, he motioned for them to come over and join him. With a hint of terror showing on the father’s face, he slowly brought his wife over to the doctor who was right beside his son. Realizing that she was allowed to be beside her son’s be again the mother rushed out of her husband’s arms to stand beside her son’s bed as the hospital machines scanned her son. Letting his wife do what she need to do, the husband turned to the doctor. Fear evident in his eyes as he asked the same question as he did to the doctor hours before.

“Doctor… How…” Not even managing to finish this time, the father remained quiet as he tried to hold his emotions in check.

Knowing what the father was trying to ask, Dr. Zharbin decided he would tell the parents what the hospital’s A.I. told him about the incident. “Mr. and Mrs. Hardison, the hospital’s A.I. sounded the alarm and notified me of your son’s cardiac arrest as soon as it appeared. Sorry for any trauma this might have caused you, but the alarm was put in place so family members of the patients would know that they need to vacate the proximity of the patient immediately. Since I was not in the room the moment it occurred, I gave the hospital’s A.I. permission to start the procedures.”

Watching as the fear in the father’s eyes fade slightly the doctor paused a moment as another prompted appeared in his vision from the hospital’s A.I., the scanning he initiated upon entry to the room were near completion and needed his attention. Speaking again, “The hospital’s A.I. has notified me that the scanning is almost done. I need to look at the results to tell you more, excuse me for a second.” With the fear that was just lost returning to the father’s eyes at those words, the doctor turned and headed towards the scanner interface.

Like before the scan showed nothing wrong except the slight muscle damage and the slight increase in heart rate from the earlier incident.

Days passed as Atlas was finally moved from the quarantine room to a regular hospital bed. On the day the that the scans indicated that the slight muscle damage had been repaired and his heart rate returned to normal levels, young Atlas finally opened his eyes.

Opening his eyes, Atlas was greeted by the same light dots as always. Crimson coloured light dots slightly filled the air, while either gold or silver light dots filled the majority of the area through the glass doors that he could see directly in front of his vision. The ceiling wasn’t the first thing he saw, since he kept his eyes closed until he sat up. The cushioning beneath his body didn’t feel like the rainbow world floor or the forest floor. And that scared him more than waking up in the rainbow world. So instead of initially opening his eyes while lying down, he instead sat up first.

His mother, noticing that he had woken up, ran towards her son regardless of her current state. A week had passed since the cardiac arrest incident happened, forget about the forest incident. The fact that all she could do while her son laid on a hospital bed was sit and wait, was far worse than searching the forest for him. At least she was able to do something useful.

With tears newly forming in her eyes, his mother cried once more while calling his name, saying my poor baby or a combination or both. Seeing his mom full of tears caused the five year old to start crying as well.

Walking into a room with a crying wife and son, the father walked towards a hospital interface by the wall and notified the doctor that his son had woken up. As the doctor and the attending nurse showed up, the father managed to calm his family down enough so that the doctor could ask his question.

Every answer that young Atlas replied with was either I don’t know or that he walked into the forest on his own accord. Since the answers to his questions weren’t going to be answered, the doctor left the room with the nurse. Leaving the parents to shower their child in all the emotions that they felt during the past half month.

A day after he woke up, young Atlas was discharged from the hospital with his parents. Arriving home and feeling like it had only been yesterday that he left it to go camping with his parents and their friend’s families. He continued to his room and decided that he needed a nap.

However, before he made it to his bed he reached out his hands to touch the colour light dots. Unlike before entering the rainbow world, he’d never tried to interact with them on his own accord. But after the rainbow world, he felt like they were apart of him. Touching a single floating emerald green light dot, a tiny ball of wind swirled on his finger tip before disappearing. Wide eyed, young Atlas reached for the next one and the next. The same thing happened again and again with every touch. Deciding to walk through a small cluster that emerged from the vent in the floor, he was disappointed when nothing happened.

For the rest of the night he played with these balls of wind that appeared with every touch of his hands.

Stopping as his mother and father gathered into his room and slept in his bed with him for the night, and many nights to follow, one last thought entered his mind before falling into the sweet oblivion that is sleep.

I’m different.