Chapter 0

July 16, 1945. 5:29 am; The United States tested the first atomic weapon, Trinity.

The Manhattan project started in an attempt to find a way to win the war and by the end it changed the future of humanity irreversibly. Before the detonation, there were fears and rumors that there was a non-zero chance the atmosphere would ignite and incinerate the entire planet. Some scientists thought it was impossible and foolish to believe it.

One of them, however, hypothesized something entirely different. Dr. Whitlock had a theory that they would create something entirely new; an energy source that will revolutionize technology. Whitlock was ostracized for this theory and other radical, non-result-based ideas, and was ultimately removed from the project and sent off base due to believing he was adding nothing to the project. Generals and government officials berated him before he left, accusing him of wasting resources trying to find ways to harness the would-be energy as an attempt at sabotaging the weapon’s development.

On the morning of the test, Dr. Whitlock was on a helicopter transport out of the city as the test finally occurred. Whitlock watched from the helicopter as the scene behind him lit up in an impossibly bright light; a light so bright angels would weep. As the mushroom cloud reached its apex, the scientists on base breathed a sigh of relief, believing their theories were wrong.

But Whitlock knew what was about to happen.

He witnessed the explosion and the confirmation that both theories were correct. At the very moment the explosion looked like it would start to dissipate, a loud crackle shook the sky. A blue-yellow spark cracked out of the atmosphere and engulfed it in a phantasmal-blue flame, encapsulating the morning sky.

Unfathomable fear set into the scientists and military officials as they believed they just ended the world. Whitlock, however could not contain his excitement and joy as he began to laugh uncontrollably. The sky became a permanent blue inferno and a new energy was created. The United States government and military officials understood Dr. Whitlock was correct and then appointed him head of all future development projects involving the energy. Whitlock named it Elysium, as he believed humanity stepped into a future greater than paradise on that day.

From then on, over the 200 years to this day, Elysium has been able to make the impossible possible. Vehicles are sustainable and no longer require fuel. Healthcare is cheap and all old-world diseases and illnesses are all but eradicated. Quality of life has never been higher and continues to climb all over the globe as new ways to travel and to live are constantly being developed. And it all stems from Whitlock creating a generator capable of taking out new atmosphere and making it into something tangible; our new, infinite energy.

“And that is Elysium’s history.”

A boy who looked around the age of 18 with shaggy platinum blonde hair was standing in the middle of a classroom. His wardrobe was the same as all other students; a black, slim fitting prototype skin-suit that had a neon blue stripe traveling from the arms and legs, intersecting in the middle of the chest into a star-like pattern. His face was full of pride, having just given a speech on the history of Elysium in front of his accompanying class.

“Very good, Mr. Valtor. However, what I asked was if you knew the history of Elysian weapons, not Elysium.”

A tall man stood at the head of the class. The instructor of this class, Mr. Halford. He had a defined, angular face with dark stubble on chin and short, neat hair. He wore a dress-shirt too tight for his fit physique and loose-fitting pants. Behind him hovered a holographic screen with various weapons and tools fit for combat.

“Now sit down and take that prideful look off your face. Learn to listen before yapping off about an ancestor. Pride in family is good to have, overbearing others with it leads to dumb mistakes. That’s your first lesson. Now, who can give me the answer I wanted?” The man crossed his arms over his chest as he looked around the room. “You, Ms. Yoake. Please cover Eric’s mistake.”

A short girl stood up, dressed in the same suit as Eric, the boy before her, is. Her purple hair was tied up into a short ponytail with bangs covering one eye. She cleared her throat and stammered on the first words.

“T-the weapons, uh, Elysian we-weapons. Uhm. They were…”

“Calm yourself and breath. You test well so I know you know the answer. But if you’re struggling here, you’ll have a harder time in the field. Double time, tell me the answer.” Mr. Halford said with a mix of compassion and snide.

The girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes before finally speaking again.

“Elysian weapons began development almost immediately after Trinity as Dr. Whitlock already had built prototypes based off his theories. We currently have 3 classes of weapons used regularly with a 4th withheld for dire, insurmountable circumstances such as a world ending threat. The first weapon developed is in the aforementioned class; a WMD that removes oxygen. From there, side arms and fire arms had been completely redesigned. The standard issue weapon given to soldiers is the WE1040 semi-automatic Elysian rifle was developed in 2001 after the discovery of degradation of chemicals needed to make gunpowder, assumed due to Elysium. The-”

“That’s good enough, thank you, Ms. Yoake. Alright, now that we’re done with the exposition of what weapons we use, time to hit the range.”

“Fuuuh...” The girl let out a deep sigh of relief.

*Smack!*

“Good one picking up my slack, Alice. I’m sure the instructor has it out for me.” Eric said, patting her on the back.

“Easy there! These suits add to your strength, you know!”

Eric chuckled softly, and scratched the side of his face, playing off that he had already forgotten what the suits were for in the first place. As he was about to start apologizing, an arm wrapped around his and Alice’s sides, interrupting him. A red-haired girl's head poked out between the two, her face looking up at them from an awkward angle.

“So, who wants to place a bet to see who gets the best score at the range? Winner gets a massage from the losers.” She spoke out in a brash but cheery tone.

“You already know Alice is the best shot in the academy, you saying you want to give her a massage for free?” Eric said, giving a bitter sigh.

Alice’s face blushed.

“Like you wouldn’t want an excuse to touch her, you perv.”

Alice’s eyes widened as her face became a deeper red.

Eric grunted in annoyance and pushed the girl’s head down, forcing her to faceplant the ground. He recoiled, again forgetting the extra strength of the suit. “Right, the suit. Sorry, Iris.”

Alice, freed from Iris’ grasp quickly turned and left the room without saying a word.

Eric knelt down and helped the girl up. She fixed her hair back into the side-tie she previously had, and patted down her suits, brushing off the dirt.

She then looked directly into Eric’s eyes, squinting hers and giving a menacing look. Eric gulped and stammered out another apology trying to quell the oncoming rage. Iris slowly raised her hand to his face, pointing a finger at him.

“Flick.”

Iris flicked Eric’s nose and her menacing face turned into one of pure innocence and joy.

“Easy there, Mr. Valtor. Gonna make Alice all jealous if you force yourself on me.” Iris said in a giggle.

“What?! Jealous about what? And what do you mean force myself?!” Eric exclaimed.

Iris giggled some more before waving her hand. “I’m just kidding. You’re way too easy to fluster. Not as easy as Alice though, did you see her face when I mentioned a massage?”

She exaggerated a shocked expression, slapping her hands on her cheeks and opening her mouth wide, only to recoil in pain.

“Ow.”

“Careful, the suit, augments us, remember?”

“Yea, I do now. Not used to this thing. We didn’t have these in the entrance exams so I don’t really understand them. Plus they’re so tight, especially on my waist.” Iris said, trying to readjust her suit.

“Not going to get me again with that sad attempt. And yea, these are newly manufactured, we’re the first group to use them and actually field them.”

“Sad attempt at what?”

Eric sighed. “Did you even listen to anything past that? Whatever, let’s get going. Don’t want Halford on our ass. And I’ve got a massage to win.”

Eric winked before running out of the class. Iris smirked, shaking her head.

“Wait up, perv! No way in hell am I going to lose to you!”

Iris ran after him, bolting out of the room in a flash.