Hello, I am R******%$^4** and this is my story, a story of a man who is neither alive nor dead, but somewhere in between… let's start, shall we?
When the universe came into existence, a lot of things happened. One of them was the birth of a race known as the Zeno, one of the most intelligent races ever to walk this universe.
With 4 arms and 2 legs, they looked truly bizarre in their way. The planet they were born on was a red dwarf planet in their solar system. There were only 3 planets: 2 gas giants and one red dwarf, far on the outer edge of the system. The sun itself was dying. In a few million years, this sun will consume all three planets and probably go supernova. But that is for the future…
A spaceship was moving toward the red dwarf. This spaceship looked very strange. It did not match any common description of a spaceship. It was shaped like an egg, pure white, with no visible windows. Inside this ship was a unit of explorers from a different race. They were called the Kanju.
The Kanju were also a very intelligent race. Their home planet provided them with great resources, and with that, their race became a type II civilization, finally able to travel in space. They had come from a different solar system into this one for research purposes. While studying, they noticed this red planet, and their curiosity grew. If the planet held useful resources, they could advance their civilization further. So they landed on the red planet and found that, while habitable, the environment was harsh due to the dying sun.
Their purpose was simple: if this planet had the resources they needed, they would terraform it and make it their own. At first, they did not find anything noticeable. The surface had only a few plants, all dying slowly because of the dying sun.
But one day, they noticed signs of life. Not just any life, but intelligent life. On the surface, they found little, but their research continued. Soon, they concluded: the planet itself held very few resources, nothing compared to their own world, which was a hundred times richer. To them, this planet was nothing more than a dumpster.
But their research showed something else. Life existed not above the ground, but below. The Kanju expanded their search, and soon they found something that shocked them to the core: a thriving civilization hidden underground, creating huge cities inside the earth. These people had 4 arms, 2 legs, and were very tall.
After some time, the Kanju made first contact. They came to understand that these people called themselves Zeno. The Zeno were highly intelligent, even more so than the Kanju. But because of their planet's poor resources, they had been unable to advance as much as the Kanju had.
After spending much time with the Zeno, the Kanju came to a frightening conclusion. The Zeno had minds sharper than their own, and an unusual ability connected to time. The Zeno did not need clocks. Their minds worked as internal timekeepers, able to measure time even down to nanoseconds. This ability alone was terrifying for the Kanju. They feared that if the Zeno ever gained the resources to advance further, one day they might even rule the universe itself.
The Kanju contacted their home planet and reported everything they had discovered. They explained that the Zeno were only held back by their lack of resources. If they had been born on a world like the Kanju home planet, they might already have developed space travel. The Kanju feared that these people could become a great obstacle. So they created a plan: to eliminate this world's population while using Zeno's mind to further their own technology. Truly, a race-ending plan.
The Kanju began by sharing some of their technology with the Zeno. With their sharp minds, the Zeno were able to develop new technologies quickly. Their civilization advanced in only a few years. The Kanju told them they needed their help for greater advancements, and the Zeno agreed. Together, they created many world-changing inventions.
With their first meeting with the Kanju, the Zeno advanced by leaps and bounds. But still, they were not able to leave their red planet. They lacked the resources to build ships strong enough to survive in space. Their race had another disadvantage: their birth rate was very low. Their total population was only around 50,000.
Days passed, and they advanced more and more, helping the Kanju with their research. The Kanju gave them a lot of data and technology to advance their civilization. But the Kanju never truly shared the secret of how they created their ships. Soon, days became years, and the Kanju living on the red planet became the first allies of the Zeno.
One day, a massive fleet of Kanju ships arrived. All were white, egg-shaped, like the first. They landed on the planet and met with the Zeno, helping them with many things. But behind the scenes, the Kanju were creating a plan to truly make use of the Zeno. They came to understand that enslaving them was far better than just killing them.
And so, they betrayed the Zeno, attacking their cities and people. They killed and enslaved the Zeno, using their minds for their own advancement. The Kanju created machines powered not by artificial intelligence, but by the brains of Zeno.
With this, their technology advanced even further, and the Kanju became a force to be reckoned with. The Zeno, already held back by their world's poor resources, were unable to defend themselves. They became slaves to the Kanju. Some fled, hiding deep in the planet's underground.
Years passed. Four thousand years since the Kanju began enslaving the Zeno.
One day, deep inside a cave.
In the cave with red stones and red dirt everywhere lived the last of the Zeno, still surviving. These people lived inside caves to protect themselves from the sun and from the cold air outside. And also to protect themselves from the Kanju, who were still searching for the last of their kind.
And in one of these caves, a child was just born. He also had 4 arms and 2 little legs dangling in the air. A woman with the same features looked at this boy… and this boy was me.
"Nima, what should we name him?" A man with 4 arms, looking similar to the boy—he was Rudrarex, the father, asked the woman holding the child.
"His name will be Rex Luther," she said proudly.
"Rex, my boy, welcome to this godforsaken world," she said.
Seeing her baby in her arms, Nima became emotional. She started to think about the future of this child. She feared that one day he might be enslaved by the Kanju. But then she shook her head. It had been 65 years since the Kanju had considered the Zeno extinct on this planet, though they were still searching to find any survivors. These 100 Zeno were the last of her kind, only surviving on the little water they could find, hiding and fearing for their lives every day. But today was a joyous event. A new life had been born.
On this day, Rex watched as his mother cried while holding him. He did not understand what was happening. Soon, he noticed others gathered as well. He saw all the people happy at his birth, so he too made sounds of joy, though to the Zeno people it felt like he was crying.
Seeing him cry, the Zeno started to laugh.
"Hahaha! Today is the most joyous occasion. Let's celebrate!" said an old man named Arik. With 4 arms and 2 long legs, he was the longest-living man among them. His skin was brittle, like dead parchment, his face wrinkled. He was the chief of this small tribe of Zeno.
All the others looked much the same. Some were young, some were old. Altogether, there were 100 people, and with Rex, it became 101. And so the people celebrated the new life in their small tribe. Rex, in his mother's arms, also became happy seeing all the others happy.
Night passed with celebration, and the next day came. These people were never able to see their dying sun because they could not go out under its rays. If they did, they would be killed by the burning heat of the day or the freezing winds of the night, or perhaps caught by the Kanju. So they lived inside these caves, from birth until death, always waiting and hoping never to be discovered.
The people of this small Zeno tribe went about their daily routines. Some formed groups and went deeper underground to find food for the whole tribe. Some just rested and slept in their carved-out cave homes. Some chatted.
A woman cared for Rex. This woman was Lima, Nima's sister. She noticed that Rex, even as a baby, was different. He did not cry much, but observed a lot, as if he were enlightened even at this age. Lima found this very interesting.