The Elements of Life

By Michael HH Warren

In The Elements of Life, the name of Legend comes into question as our teenage heroes peel back the layers of the conspiracy driving the actions of the Praeceptori and the rebels in this third book in the Treasure Chasers series.

But that’s not all that’s changed. With the bond between them stronger than ever, the four teens face a myriad of unknown perils and confrontations, once again testing their abilities to recover various treasures and sticking together as a group, to ultimately prepare them for The Calling.

They must now decide whether the path they have chosen is just and whether they can survive taking another. Will they succeed? They are the Hope of the Future. They are the True Humans.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael HH Warren
• Release date: Jun 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215508145

Michael HH Warren

Michael HH Warren began writing about his life during the South African winter of 2009. Driven by a strong desire to tell his story, what began as a creative outlet would eventually become his first book, In The Name Of God. The writing bug has bitten, and Michael has since published several novels. A far cry from his memoir, these books are aimed at teens/young adults who represent Generation Z (GenZ). Still having a passion for the world of non-fiction, Michael has several ideas presently evolving into draft manuscripts. He lives with his wife, two children and three Jack Russells.

Book preview

The Elements of Life

Treasure Chasers Book 3

Michael HH Warren

© Michael HH Warren 2023

www.generationz-books.com

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the author. Brief excerpts may be cited in book reviews, provided the narrative quoted is verbatim and due credit is given by way of the book title and name of author.

This is unquestionably a work of fiction, with little basis in fact or certainty in present day reality, but perhaps more so by 2095. For this reason, kindly accept that no apologies will be forthcoming for any offended sensitivities.

Names, characters, places, incidents, and events are products of the Author’s imagination and therefore used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or having the seemingly impossible likelihood of imitating any actual incident or event, is purely coincidental. Should any artifact, business, event, incident, institution, name, or place be found to be evident and occur in public domain source documents and resource repositories, then accept that they are true to life and therefore factual.

Book design by Leila Summers

Edited by Kathleen Bosman

Storyline Advisor: Tiaan van Niekerk

Contents

Glossary

Author's Note

Chapter One: Kyung – Space

Chapter Two: Karleo – Water

Chapter Three: Arlena – Fire

Chapter Four: Levente – Earth

Chapter Five: Shannen – Wind

Chapter Six: Jimmick – Darkness

Chapter Seven: Kyung II – Light

Chapter Eight: Levente II

Chapter Nine: Karleo II

Chapter Ten: Arlena II

Chapter Eleven: Shannen II

Chapter Twelve: Karleo III

Chapter Thirteen: Levente III

Chapter Fourteen: Karleo IV

Chapter Fifteen: Kyung III

Acknowledgments

Glossary

ArtheNagal

The name of an Extra-Terrestrial Living Station, or space station, where, since the year 2095, unborn children from the world over are given life through laboratory fertilization, also known as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and brought up to be part of a civilization, where everyone can truly be equal―the True Humans who will bring order and restoration to a world that has fallen into chaos.

The Age

An inhabitant of ArtheNagal has reached The Age when he or she turns eighteen years old.

The Calling

This is the real purpose that the Four Legends are to be prepared for.

Cooperative Nations Initiative (CNI)

The restructured form of what was once the United Nations, formed towards the later part of the 21st century.

Dorm Leader

One of the inhabitants of ArtheNagal, who has reached The Age and is now in charge of the bedroom discipline in one of the dormitories.

Exèrcit de Llegendes (EDL)

Sister station of ArtheNagal. Literally means ‘Army of Legends’, referring to the army of soldiers made up of previous Legends and the rest of the inhabitants of ArtheNagal who have reached The Age. The regular inhabitants become the infantry, while the previous Legends serve as military leaders of the army.

The Four Societies

Concentrations of people on Earth in four major areas on the planet, namely Amazonian America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Oceania, and Scandinavia, where people were contained in three megacities and a few surrounding towns representing each of the larger societies. This was orchestrated by the CNI in order to keep peace on Earth.

Global Harmony

The end goal unto which the Rebel Forces have set their minds and which they are trying to bring about.

Hoverbikes

Motorcycle-like vehicles powered by thrusters that keep them hovering above the ground. Very fast and powerful and useful to cover great distances over otherwise inaccessible terrain.

Jetto Dome

Alternatively known as The Dome, the arena where the game of Jetto is played on ArtheNagal. Also, a safe space in which all of the inhabitants of ArtheNagal can be protected from space attacks.

The Last War

A global war during Earth’s history that had devastating effects on a much larger scale than any before it, leaving the planet in ruins, but not completely uninhabitable.

Legend

An 18-year-old inhabitant on ArtheNagal who has been chosen to take part in a Quest in order to procure a treasure of some sort.

Lux Armiger

Translated from Latin, a combination of words meaning light and armor, or Light-Bearers. On ArtheNagal, it refers to one of the factions into which the children are divided.

Mjolnir

The proper name for Thor’s legendary Hammer.

Observation Room or OR

The room on ArtheNagal that The Legends are being monitored from while they are on their Quests.

Praeceptori

Translated from the Latin word meaning ‘master’ or ‘teacher’. On ArtheNagal the Praeceptori refers to the council of twelve men and women that run everything onboard the space station.

The Quest

A journey that The Legends undertake in teams of two during which they must face unknown dangers and retrieve treasure. This is done in order to prepare Legends for The Calling.

Rebel Forces

A larger alliance of people who remained on Earth after the Last War, of which the Rogues are only a small faction, seeking proper reconstructed governance of the left-behind world.

Rodrigo Elessa

One of the Rogues’ most prominent young leaders. Ruthless and tremendously skilled in combat and parkour.

Rogues

The people who survived the Last War on Earth remained there and now must fend for themselves, often reverting to martial law to continue their own survival.

Sicarii

Translated from the Latin word meaning ‘assassins’ or ‘Dagger-Warriors’. On ArtheNagal it refers to one of the factions that the children are divided into.

Spacetime

The concept of Spacetime used in this book stems from the BBC Earth program Forces of Nature: Professor Brian Cox follows the Earth’s epic journey through space 2/4.

Simply put, the whole universe is moving along in Spacetime where no moment or event in space is ever repeated at the same place again, e.g., when the Earth moves through space and time, it will always move to a new point along its trajectory. As the Earth circles the sun—the Earth moves along on a type of plane, as does everything in the universe, but is never static and never, in the future, meets the exact place it was previously at again. When we remember our past, we only have our memories, even though we can sit in a field and think we are at the same spot where we experienced something in the past, but that spot is never actually in the same spot it was, relative to the moving forward in time of the Earth and everything else.

Therefore, it is theoretically possible to visit the past and not disturb the present or future. If we could get to that exact place when something happened in our past, along the Earth’s historical trajectory or plane, we could actually go back in time.

[DISCLAIMER: this theory above assumes a spinning globe earth, or heliocentric model, where the sun is the center of our solar system. However, if our earth is geocentric, and the center of our solar system is a stationary flat earth, having a dome or firmament above us, then this book is truly beyond the realm of science fiction]

Time Wedge

A round device, five inches in diameter, containing six wedges that can be pressed once each, allowing the person holding the device to travel to a specific time and place and back again to the original time and place from whence they left.

Dedication

For Kelly, Caden and Generation Z.

Author’s Note

The Elements of Life continues with the adventures of our four teenagers from the futuristic space station, ArtheNagal, in the Treasure Chasers series.

The Elements of Life concludes this trilogy as the four teens face a myriad of unknown perils and confrontations, once again testing their abilities to recover various treasures and sticking together as a group, to ultimately prepare them for The Calling.

But will they succeed?

They are the Hope of the Future.

They are the True Humans.

Michael HH Warren

June 2023

Chapter One

Kyung – Space

I’ve always loved living on ArtheNagal. It is quite exciting, really, living on a spaceship, or a space station such as this one. Sure, there’s no ‘outside’ to go to, and everything from light to oxygen to food is artificial, but there is a certain element of mystery that comes with living in an enclosed machine—because that is essentially what the space station is. ArtheNagal remains an immense machine, an incubator in which, for the past decade and more, we have grown humans. And armies.

But to me, it has always been a safe place, far away from things like famine and hunger and disease, and other natural disasters. Here we can control what we go through and what we would like the children to experience at various ages as they grow up. It is all immaculately calculated. And the overall plan is really exciting—we see the kids grow up, all with harmonious minds, all with each other’s best interests at heart. There is no hate, no prejudice, no belittling or marginalization of any kind, and we see what it would look like if people could truly live without the restrictions that culture or religion or other systems of belief impose upon them.

Well now—look how that’s turned out.

With Jimmick leading the way, we walk along a low-lit corridor in the bowels of the space station. This is a restricted area—how did he manage to get access to it? And how did he become entrusted with the deplorable task of delivering the Four Legends and myself to the Praeceptori? Not that it seems as if the Four will even appear before the Praeceptori. With Karleo and Levente expelled to who knows where, and Arlena and Shannen locked up and kept in place by hurtful force-field shackles, justice seems to have passed swiftly already.

Expulsion will be enforced in any event that the Praeceptori deem a particular Legend unfit … a Legend will be deemed unfit if they portray any kind of behavior or express any verbal or physical communication that clearly opposes the overall vision of the Praeceptori, which is one of complete global control.

If expulsion into outer space is what they are willing to do to a teenager who opposes them, I can only imagine what they would do to one of their year-group mentors in the same scenario.

We reach the end of the corridor and enter an elevator. Jimmick still hasn’t said a word since we’ve left the cell where Arlena and Shannen are held. I am not sure if he will follow through on his earlier threat of making me bleed just because he can, but I’m not really keen to test that theory right now. After all, he did hit me in the face with a chair earlier tonight.

The elevator comes to a stop and opens on the same floor as the Parliament Chamber. Doesn’t seem like we’ll have a delay of any sort, but I’d prefer to get all of this over and done with.

My heart races. This might very well be my last few hours on ArtheNagal. The injustice of this situation is taking a hold of me like iron