Not long has passed since the signing of the Treatise of Athena, and the council members, nowadays known as the Order of the Alatyr, began to move. Their political, economic, social, and military influence could not be underestimated. They worked in silence, diligently as the engineers that dug the mines on the western front.
They spared no expense, as the fate of the continent rested on their shoulders. They knew that they cannot save the world, for that it was far too late. Their societies, suffering from malnourishment and disease, short lifespans and overpopulation could not be fully saved. Millions would die. And thereupon, millions more would die. They, agreed upon a set of rules, and as those were now considered sacred, they would be damned if they broke them. What they offered humanity was a test. In the truest meritocratic sense. One evening, every single individual across the Eurasian continent received an innocuous package.
Within was a letter, elaborating upon the package contents. It contained 1 USB stick with 20 different files, that would lock once the time was up. It was a test, this test battery came free of charge and lasted all in all 20 hours. The test itself could be taken one at a time, split into 20 one-hour blocks. If an individual completed the tests, all they had to do was put their finished tests back into the package, and drop it off at their closest post office, or drone operated package drop off station. A deadline was set to one year after that day. Individuals were tested on various topics, general intelligence, personality tests, governance, administration, theology, military tactics, engineering, mathematics, informational technology, music, medicine, law, morality, biology, and chemistry.
This took the Continent by storm, nobody knew where the packages were from, what they were for, besides the general instructions, and the desire of the authors for the individuals to complete them and send them back. Millions of photos, scam articles, news reports, status updates, selfies, blog posts, conspiracy theories etc. flooded the internet. All asking or claiming the same. What was the catch? Some governmental agencies, ministries sensed this would be good preparation or estimation of general academic knowledge, made the tests mandatory, parents likewise tested themselves to screen their achievement prompted by their companies. Some individuals did so for the sheer curiosity, others out of boredom, then again some with the motivation to become the best. Motivations and intentions behind the completion were numerous as are stars in the night sky if they could be seen from under the smog, and these were dwarfed by those that did not finish or started the test at all. Human society has deteriorated to that of individuals that live in the moment, seek instant gratification, and have the attention span of a goldfish. Yet, there was hope.
The Order was not sitting idly by. They have mobilised their total material, fiscal and human resources, connections, and contracts to set their plan into motion. They have begun building a fleet, that dwarfed any other by a significant margin.
One year passed by in a flash and the tests were evaluated. Numerous tests were rejected, due to them being sent in blank, some that had scores that were too low. Those individuals that passed the test, were surprised yet again. They received another package, this one containing a ticket that looked like an ID-card made of steel, with the instructions to keep it to themselves, and show up with it at a certain location in two years’ time.
Of course, this was an event that not all could keep hidden, and similar reactions to that of the tests erupted around the world. Asking the same questions, what will happen at those locations in two years’ time, and who sent out these ID cards? As the shackles of competition, envy and shrewd manoeuvres were broken, the Order was making fast progress with their fleet. Thusly two years passed. In this time, the states in Western Europe, spearheaded by Germany and France became isolationist. They retreated form world politics, feigning ignorance, with an excuse that they need to focus on domestic affairs. People forgot about the ID cards and tests. Remarkably, those that still owned the IDs if they haven’t wagered them off or lost them, showed up at the designated areas. There were met with primitive heavy-duty aircraft that had two pairs of wings and tilt-turbine-engines, glowing in azure color.
Paramilitary members wearing polished black military boots, a pair of grey trousers, with a red crease running up the side hidden by long dark blue coats which’s ends were trimmed by a crimson red, a double line of gold-silver buttons running up the front, a black leather belt holding a ceremonial sabre and handgun, ending in a golden buckle that depicted the at the time an unknown coat of arms, shoulder epaulettes depicting the ranks in golden trims, and finally wearing a modern version of the legendary pickelhaube, that was made of kevlar, and featured the imperial eagle spreading its wings, wearing a crown, in front of a cross whilst holding a sabre and book in its claws. This sight startled the gathered individuals, but after the initial shock, the guards, verified the IDs and encouraged the individuals to board the aircraft. This event occurred across the continent, with hundreds of aircraft picking up individuals at their designated areas. Once the first wave of aircraft was full, they raced to the same destination, Essen. In the two years prior, the city was swarmed with supplies, people, infrastructure, and a sense of duty to complete the impossible. Once the aircraft showed up on the horizon, the city truly sprang to life once more. Hundreds of landing areas were illuminated, hangers opened, all in preparation to accept the arriving people. Once the aircraft landed, the officers and staff on site rushed the people into the hangers, for the aircraft to take off again and collect more people. All in all, 100 waves successfully brought back most of the individuals that still held ID cards. The initial census of the individuals brought in was around 20 million. An extremely large feat, yet only a fraction of the population of the continent. Once the last of the aircraft arrived, the city went into lockdown. Time was of the essence, and these refugees were assigned to pre-prepared quarters. They were escorted to rooms, flanked by steel plaques containing the room number and their names. The rooms looked rather spartan, but that was not the issue. Once the refugees were settled in, the PA system sprang to life. It greeted the people, congratulated them on successfully completing the test, and having the courage to face the unknown. It continued to describe what is going on, and when the departure will take place, and that for now they should stay in their quarters, that provided all the necessities for the next two days.
As the city was on lockdown, and most of the inhabitants were evacuated to the same quarters as the refugees, the automated processes came to life. The city went into overdrive, and buildings toppled, massive underground hangers opened, revealing ships of unknown design. The staff rushed to stow away remaining supplies, military and utility equipment, national treasures, books, documents, and historic artefacts.
Two days passed in a flash, with no major disruptions of the preparations, besides the occasional angry refugee. The PA System came to life once more, and urged individuals to brace themselves, as they are about to take off. The ships sighted on the day of arrival, turned on their engines, went thorough preflight checklists, and closed their airtight doors and windows. Engines burning with hot azure light went into full drive and propelled the ships into the sky. Hundreds of ships could be seen leaving the city their destination the great unknown beyond the smog and dying planet. International observers, governments and militaries went into disarray, this event startling them to their cores. An exodus was happening. Once the fleet was in orbit, it shot straight for Mars. It took the fleet a few days to reach their destination, where the fleet split up. 40% of the fleet descended onto the surface of the red planet, whilst the rest continued their journey to Jupiter.
