Silence was my greatest friend…
Being alone all day with my thoughts was perfect and peaceful…
I had always been like this since I was younger… As long as I was alone or in my own space, I felt like I could do anything…
Being a person like this brought me a lot of problems in my childhood. Soon, my parents became worried about my behavior, and I ended up seeing a doctor; it seemed like I was sick… I did a lot of strange tests, and many days later, two strange men visited my house…
They argued with my parents, and everyone was shouting very loudly… I tried to cover my ears so as not to hear the argument, but it was in vain… Even muffled, I could still hear some of the phrases:
"The little girl is a genius, the highest IQ recorded in the history of Jyera… You two don't have the financial means to provide the care and education she needs…"
"We know that, but we are still her parents; she feels better with us…"
"She is autistic, and you only realized it now, which shows your inability to. You guys, just sign the custody transfer and we'll take care of her…"
"We know that, but the money you're offering to take her is too little…"
"So that's what it's all about, right?"
After a long discussion, my parents signed the papers, and the two men took me. The sudden change made me a little uncomfortable, but I soon adapted. As strange as it was, I didn't miss my parents either.
The reason I adapted so quickly was that I finally had a place of my own, it was a big house, but I only liked to stay in my room, which was also very big, with everything I needed... I had exercise equipment, two TVs, a computer, and several shelves with many books on all kinds of subjects… Someone would bring me food several times a day, and now and then, some teachers would come too. They were kind and patient, but they didn't come for long.
Whenever I learned everything they taught me, they left, and new teachers replaced them…
The classes I liked the most were the ones that involved calculus, and the ones I liked the least were the physical education ones. But among them, I really liked some martial arts, especially one that taught me how to throw objects as self-defense. I became very good at that too…
Occasionally, I was also taken out, it was something my doctor said I should do… Some of the places were fun, like amusement parks and shopping malls. I was always accompanied by many other children during these outings, but I didn't like those moments. I always felt anxious and suffocated around other people and public places… In addition, there were always their looks, it was as if I was being measured or judged by them… Or was it all something I just imagined? Or something I created to justify not being around them?
Whatever it was, whenever I asked to go back to my home, they would let me and bring me back immediately… The years went by, and I also continued to grow. My relationship with the people who visited me also changed. They were no longer professors, they were people with some kind of academic or scientific problem. And whenever they visited me, they expected me to solve it. Every problem they brought to me fascinated me a lot, and I continued living like that until one day I was forced to move again.
Moving was always something that bothered me a lot. I liked where I lived, my routines, my schedules, and everything around me that was organized by me.
So I was quite stressed about all my new changes, especially the various physical tests and procedures that they said were necessary for where I was going…
But I was also surprised. When all the training and travel were over, I was in the same room as before. At least that's what I thought until I saw the different patterns on the wall paint... And when I opened my bedroom window, what I saw scared me, but also fascinated me a lot, a round blue world with several familiar continents was visible...
I now knew where I was: On the Jyera Space Station!
I was smart enough to know, since I was a child, that the government was the one taking care of me, and I knew that "solving problems" was my "job" and also a way to repay them for their care. But I didn't care about the means or the motives... I liked what I did and I was satisfied that they always met my wishes... So I didn't care about the new "home" and continued to help with everything they asked.
The Great Colonization, that's what everyone called this project. Jyera would travel through a Warp Gate to a new star... My job was to follow this new group and support them in the colonization. And I was ready for it. I confess that I was also excited about all the new research and studies that we would do on this new star.
Just the initial data collected by the machines sent to the planet Chronos, one of the eight planets of this new solar system, brought fascinating data! That world had phenomena that we can barely explain; it was full of life, and a huge number of new elements were discovered. The future of Jyera's science was bright!
But all my excitement turned into anguish and anxiety, because, a few days before the Great Colonization began, I felt a strange change in my body, as if my strength had increased slightly; it was not a gradual increase, it was instantaneous.
As I clenched my fist, testing this strange and sudden increase…
A blue screen appeared before my eyes… It showed a lot of scary information, and along with that information was a huge amount of missions that I was supposed to complete if I wanted to survive…
[BEEP]
[System Calibrating…]
[System Starting…]
Jyera Apocalypse System
Type: Symbiosis
User: Anna
Age: 23 years old
Profession: Astronaut
Academic degree: PHD in Applied Space Physics.
Skills:…