Life 1/3. The Story Told by Chronicler Rhapsody

By Elena Kryuchkova

Thirty centuries ago, after a catastrophe that wiped out the previous civilization and made the Earth uninhabitable, the remnants of humanity moved to near-Earth colonies. Due to living conditions different from Earth, the appearance of people has changed, and the average life expectancy has been reduced to forty years. Resources in near-Earth colonies are limited, humanity relies heavily on highly advanced AI ‘Mother’, which plans almost all areas of people's lives, including the choice of marriage partner and workplace.
But even in space, life has not become calm. From time to time, the mysterious Veils attack near-Earth colonies. They are rebels who have left the near-Earth colonies, who dream of destroying the colonies and exterminating humanity.
Stella and Astra are twin sisters living in the Azul-1 colony. They are celebrating their coming of age and preparing to graduate from high school. Their childhood friend, Chris, dreams of confessing his feelings to Astra. But they still do not know that the shadow of tragedy has gathered over them...
What will happen to Astra, Stella and Chris? And who are the Veils really? What will be the story that the girl Rhapsody, Chronicler of the Earth, writes in her volume of the Star Chronicles?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elena Kryuchkova
• Release date: Aug 31, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215580936

Elena Kryuchkova

Elena Kryuchkova started her creative path in 2012. She writes in different genres, such as: esotericism, fantasy, Slavic fantasy, sci-fi, dystopia, post-apocalyptic and others. Has several graphic works. A number of her novels were co-authored with Olga Kryuchkova.She is inspired by various fantasy and science fiction.Loves cats and draws.

Book preview

Life 1/3.

The Story Told by

Chronicler Rhapsody

Elena Kryuchkova

Life 1/3. The Story Told by Chronicler Rhapsody

Written by Elena Kryuchkova

Copyright © 2023 Elena Kryuchkova

All rights reserved

Cover Design - Cover created by AI (Stable Diffusion, NightCafe)

Elena Kryuchkova

18+ (Dystopia)

Life 1/3. The Story Told by Chronicler Rhapsody

Characters

Part 1. Two Stars

Interlude 1. Chronicler Rhapsody

Chapter 1. Coming of Age Celebration.

Chapter 2. Exams and Chris' Reflections

Chapter 3. Drawings and Tragedy. The Appearance of the Veils

Part 2. Two Ways

Interlude 2. Reflections of Chronicler Rhapsody

Chapter 1. Farewell to Irma

Chapter 2. New Appearance of ‘Veils’

Chapter 3. Long Journey

Description:

Thirty centuries ago, after a catastrophe that wiped out the previous civilization and made the Earth uninhabitable, the remnants of humanity moved to near-Earth colonies. Due to living conditions different from Earth, the appearance of people has changed, and the average life expectancy has been reduced to forty years. Resources in near-Earth colonies are limited, humanity relies heavily on highly advanced AI ‘Mother’, which plans almost all areas of people's lives, including the choice of marriage partner and workplace.

But even in space, life has not become calm. From time to time, the mysterious Veils attack near-Earth colonies. They are rebels who have left the near-Earth colonies, who dream of destroying the colonies and exterminating humanity.

Stella and Astra are twin sisters living in the Azul-1 colony. They are celebrating their coming of age and preparing to graduate from high school. Their childhood friend, Chris, dreams of confessing his feelings to Astra. But they still do not know that the shadow of tragedy has gathered over them...

What will happen to Astra, Stella and Chris? And who are the Veils really? What will be the story that the girl Rhapsody, Chronicler of the Earth, writes in her volume of the Star Chronicles?

Characters

Rhapsody — Chronicler of the Earth, was a human in the past

Stella — the main character, the twin sister of Astra, a resident of the Azul-1 colony

Astra is the main character, Stella's twin sister, a resident of the Azul-1 colony. Later joined the Veils

Johan — second leader of the Veils

Irma — leader of the Veils

Face 1, Face Star, Face Plus, Face Bird — the true leaders of the Council, the rulers of the near-Earth colonies, have modified bodies, the perpetrators of the catastrophe of the past. They want to save humanity from troubles and for this they will make every sacrifice

Part 1. Two Stars

This story is fiction and fantasy. And any resemblance to real people or events is coincidental.

This story is completely fiction.

Interlude 1. Chronicler Rhapsody

I am Chronicler Rhapsody. I am not a human, although in the past I was. I died three thousand years ago. But my existence did not cease, for I was chosen to be the Chronicler of the Earth by those who in ancient times were called deities.

Of course they are not deities. For there are no deities, in the sense in which they were imagined by people, and cannot be. But there are beings of a different order who look after this world. Some of them have a human-like appearance, and some do not, but they are all beautiful.

They did not tell me their true name, nor did they tell the rest of the chroniclers. It's just that when I died, they took my spiritual essence to some place flooded with light and said:

You seem like a suitable candidate to us. Do you want to become a Chronicler of the Earth?

What? I did not understand.

A Chronicler of the Earth. You will be reborn as a being of a different order. You will become an immortal spiritual being. Your duty will be to keep the chronicles of the Earth and near-Earth space, as well as Earthlings who will leave the limits of their planet and the Solar System. You can be present everywhere at the same time, watching everyone. And you will record everything in your volume of the Star Chronicles. The previous Chronicler of the Earth moved to another, younger planet. So we are looking for a replacement.

What are the Star Chronicles? I did not understand. Here, on Earth, we have a war on a planetary scale. I don't know who you are, but if you have watched my planet, you should know that all countries have entered into wars using weapons worse than nuclear. A shell hit my house too... Everyone died instantly, like me...

At that moment, I didn't cry. I don’t know why myself, but I didn’t feel anything, although I understood intellectually that I should sob and scream in despair. Because not only I died, but my whole family, and my dog, and my aquarium fish, and even my annoying neighbors.

As if anticipating my question, one of the beautiful beings in the form of a woman with long golden hair and transparent flowers growing from her eyebrows said to me:

I know what you're thinking right now. We ‘turned off’ your emotions so that you make an informed decision. If you wish, then we will turn them on.

Do I absolutely have to become a Chronicler? I asked.

No, the woman replied.

What happens if I refuse?

You will go into the stream of rebirths, like everyone you know. And we will look for another candidate. There are still a few souls who are sleeping for now.

And the beautiful beings are gone. More precisely, they disappeared. And I stayed in the bright place to think. I had no emotions, which is probably why I thought things through properly.

When I made a decision, beautiful beings, as if reading my thoughts, again appeared to me.

I will become the Chronicler, I told them. I want to see what happens next with the Earth. I want to see in what form new life will be born on it, after all of humanity has perished.

Not all of humanity perished, another beautiful being answered me, resembling a sexless, many-armed and many-faced being. Some people managed to survive. But now, they are likely to change their appearance.

Then I'll become the Chronicler and see it, I nodded.

Beautiful beings favorably reacted to my decision. So I became the Chronicler of the Earth, taking on the new name Rhapsody. At my request, they did not turn on my emotions. My appearance has also changed — now I have long white hair, pale blue eyes and white clothes. In general, now I resemble a snow fairy from ancient Earth fairy tales.

And now for three thousand years I have been writing in my volume of the Star Chronicles a new history of a greatly changed humanity.

I am everywhere, I look after everyone, but I cannot interfere in any way with the course of events. I only keep records, for I am the Chronicler. Although, sometimes, people with developed intuition see me in their dreams. And I can tell them something encouraging or advise them to go forward, but nothing more.

So I will continue to record the history of the Earth, which should never have become a reality...

Chapter 1. Coming of Age Celebration.

Azul-1, 3001 Space Age

Happy birthday! mom exclaimed.

You are now of age! dad exclaimed. I can't believe my girls are already twelve years old!

In a few days you will go to meet the suitors, grandma smiled. The computer ‘Mother’ will choose your spouses. You just need to wait for its notification.

Yes! exclaimed Stella and Astra, two twin sisters.

But you will get married after you graduate from school! So pass your exams properly! mother said.

We'll pass our exams, Astra scowled.

Let's eat the cake, Stella said.

Yes, yes, cake! Let me cut it, grandma suggested.

She took a kitchen knife from a special stand and began to cut the cake. Stella and Astra looked sadly at their grandmother's hand, and at herself — she looked young, her blue skin had not even had time to wrinkle, and there were no silver threads of gray hair in her dark blue hair. After all, their grandmother had just turned thirty-eight. But everyone knew she didn't have long to live. This was not discussed in the family, because all people were in a similar situation: the maximum life expectancy was forty years.

Most often, people lived to thirty-five or thirty-six, very rarely — to forty. Even less often — up to forty-one or up to forty-two. In other words, Stella and Astra's grandmother was already considered a long-liver.

After moving to near-Earth colonies almost thirty centuries ago, people have changed a lot in appearance, and the current life expectancy is 1/3 of the period that was measured out to us by fate in the past, Astra thought with incredible sadness. That is why we must all work hard to restore the Earth someday.

What a nice cake! meanwhile noted grandma. "With