By the year 2030, fifty-two years before Alastair’s story took place, a researcher by the name of Professor Alecx proposed a ridiculous idea that would forever change the course of history: The sun is the reason for our suffering. In his own words, Alecx stated, “Skin cancer will soon be the leading cause of death for all. The sun itself will be the reason why our buildings crumble, the reason why our loved ones will die, and will be responsible for the crash of society. As much as I am confident, I am also not arrogant. Thus, I will dedicate my life to research and eventually prove to everybody that my claim shall be heeded..”

After hearing that, the public couldn’t help but humiliate the man. 

“How the hell would the sun, which had existed for billions of years, be the cause of humanity’s doom?” a woman broadcasted on the news.

The people threw stones at Alecx’s window, sparing him no peaceful nights. Some even sought to assault the innocent researcher on the streets, purely for the sake of entertainment. However, as harsh as these years of his life were, the man’s grit only grew with each passing day. 

Then came the year 2040, ten years after Prof. Alecx’s research first began. He was met with an audience of roughly five hundred men and women, as well as influential political figures from all across the state in the center of Scorpion City. 

“Tonight marks the night of all nights. After researching for ten years, I have discovered a great many things. All I wish for from everybody is to listen to my words with open ears before declaring your opinions on the matter.” 

Alecx sighed a heavy one. He gripped tightly onto the microphone in front of him, straightened his back, and proceeded with his first statement.

“First of all, the sun is the cause for all murders. Whether it’s homicide or suicide, the sun is responsible for all.”

All kinds of expressions were presented within the crowd. Some were ones of confusion, while others were of anger. Whichever it was, the audience couldn’t help but question the man’s stupidity. 

“You’re crazy!”

“Get the hell off the stage!”

“Are you fucking stupid?”

“You’re wasting my time, you bastard!”

But Alecx continued his speech with eyes of determination. “We humans have between 20,000 to 30,000 genes in our bodies. Among one of these genes is something that I call the Death gene- the gene that controls our impulse to kill. This so-called “Death” gene becomes larger when exposed to the sun, and although this increase in size is harmless for about ninety-nine percent of the population, there are a small group of individuals who are harshly affected by this increase in gene size. Thus, those individuals become killers- some so desperate that they succumbed to even killing themselves.”

The audience whispered at each other, skeptical about the words that came out of the man’s mouth. At that moment, however, a man by the name of Krist Hamilton presented himself through the form of a holographic image- a newly created device at the time that had already gone mainstream not too long prior to the year that Alecx’s speech took place.

“Everybody, please show this man respect as you would to me. The research had been officially licensed by the government, and I would hope that you don’t treat our research with a grain of salt, as we have poured countless resources into this project for the sake of humanity,” Krist voiced as the holographic image of him shut down afterward.

Krist Hamilton, the 50th president of the United States, had worked closely with Alecx during the project. The president’s main contribution was funding the research, which had proven itself to be nearly the most important factor. Whilst the public had called the professor delusional, the government became intrigued by his ideas and supported him from the shadows.

Alecx cleared his throat as he was beginning to feel a bit of nervousness from all of the eyes that stared at him.

“H. H. Holmes, America’s first serial killer, was the first subject for the experiment.” Alecx began, bringing his lips closer to the microphone. “Thanks to the latest tools provided by Afterlife Technologies, we were able to reconstruct the entirety of Holme’s body’s genetic information simply by extracting a piece of his skull. That was when the team and I first discovered the Death Gene, which was shown to be massive within Holme’s body.”

Alecx then stayed silent for about a minute. The audience only grew more tense, anxiously waiting for him to continue his speech.

Alecx cleared his throat again. “I decided to compare Holme’s Death Gene to the other corpses from the city’s mortuary to see whether or not my finding was ‘accidental’. But, without a doubt, this ‘Death Gene’ appeared in every single corpse that we explored. Some were even larger than others!”

A few of the political figures began whispering to one another, but ultimately, Alecx no longer had a crowd that opposed his ideas. Instead, his audience merely became curious.

“A few days later, the team and I found the following: The corpses that had died from self-inflicted wounds had a larger Death Gene than those who have died normal deaths. At first, we had assumed that the increase in size of this gene was the cause of depression and suicide, but after more extensive research, we’ve discovered many more factors about this gene, including the fact that it grows with an increase in sun exposure. So once again, I will state my conclusion from the experiment. The Death Gene is apparent in every human and grows larger through contact with the sun. Some groups become heavily affected by this increase in size more than others, which eventually leads to the rise of murderous instincts.”

Throughout the rest of the night, the audience stayed silent. Their taunt toward Alecx had entirely vanished.

He continued his speech for about another hour or so. The second half of the speech, in which Alecx presented two other ideas, was recorded and summarized by a journalist. The following were his ideas:

“Skin cancer continues to become increasingly more apparent over the years. Even though the idea of natural selection states that individuals with the most favorable traits survive and reproduce, new medicine has paved a way for humans to survive various different types of illnesses and cancers through artificial means. Thus, our predicted anti-skin cancer trait had never been developed, and instead was replaced with modern medicine. Although this sounds fine at first glance, we have to take into consideration about the fact that medicine is not infinite. It costs a lot of resources and money to produce, and as the population of humanity continues to grow, we will eventually be unable to provide medicine for all. Skin cancer will outgrow us.”

This was the idea that made the most sense toward the general population. 

“During my research, I’ve wondered, ‘If the sun affects the growth of a gene in a person’s body, then how else could the sun be changing us?’ The research team and I analyzed muscles, organs, and even cells, but what we found to be the most consistent data in our research lies within our eyes. The cause of blindness, which was originally thought to be purely a genetic factor, is actually heightened by exposure to the sun. Meaning, that if a person were to be genetically predisposed to have bad eyesight in the future, then that process will speed up earlier the more that the person is exposed to the sun. However, people who aren’t genetically predisposed to have eye issues will not become blinded by exposure to the sun. And because our data seems to support the idea that the sun speeds up issues within our eyes, we can make a prediction that the sun could also be speeding up the destruction of other bodily functions.”

After his speech, Alecx proposed his solution to solve all of the problems that he had talked about.

“Society must become nocturnal. By sleeping through the day and performing during the night, all of the problems mentioned previously will be fixed.”

And because the government worked alongside Alecx during his research, his solution was quickly approved.

There were riots, threats, and even slaughter to oppose Alecx’s idea. But the government persisted with the researcher’s bold solution. Eventually, a temporary law known as The Idea For a New Age was issued, and it stated, “Every device that tracks time- including, but not limited to, watches, clocks, alarms, smartphones, and all others- will be pushed forward by five minutes every single day, until a total of twelve hours have passed.

Thus, by the year 2082, forty-two years after Alecx first proposed his idea, society had entirely adapted to this brand-new age.

###

“You okay there, buck? You’re looking kinda pale,” a boy said to Alastair.

That boy’s name was Nicolas, and he had been best friends with Alastair ever since the two were ten years old. Now, they attended Rockefeller academy- a school that welcomed wealthy teens with loving arms. 

“Hm? Do I look sick or something?” Alastair asked, pressing a hand against his face. “I’m feeling just fine.”

“Alastair and Nicolas, please be quiet.” the teacher instructed with a computerized voice. Its name was Ms. 307, named after the serial number that was imprinted on the back of its head. The entire academy’s workforce- janitors, teachers, and staff alike- were run under one single A.I. system known as the Athena System. Founded by a member of the Rockefeller family, the system quickly became widespread and eventually replaced the jobs of all educators in America.

“Royler, please solve the problem presented in front of you,” the robot said, staring its artificial blue eyes at the boy.

At that same moment, a holographic projection appeared on top of Royler’s table. It presented a single question along with four possible answers to choose from.

 

<>

In order for robotic equipment to last its entire intended lifespan, what are the first three Heuran tasks that one must perform according to Rockefeller’s Maintenance Manual?

 

1. Heuran 6, Heuren 3, Heuren 4.
2. Heuran 6, Heuren 4, Heuren 3
3. Heuren 1, Heuren 12, Heuren 2
4. Heuren 1, Heuren 2, Heuren 12

<>

 

After reading the entire prompt presented in front of him, Royler repeatedly shook his head, unable to come up with an answer. The boy quickly turned to his left to try and get help from Nicholas, but their eyes did not make contact. 

Good luck with that! You shoulda studied, ya dumbass! Nicolas thought, deliberately ignoring Royler’s stare for help. Nicolas let out a smirk.

Alastair, who sat beside Nicolas, noticed his smirk and made a face at him saying, “What the fuck are you smiling for? I know damn well you didn’t study either…”

Suddenly, the sounds of artificial bells began playing from the classroom’s speakers. A woman’s voice then followed up afterward.

“Attention to all students. School is no longer in session. You may now leave.” 

In that same instant, the robotic teacher standing at the front of the class immediately transitioned into a state of hibernation. Its eyes were closed, its neck became slouched, and its mouth was opened gently, projecting out a holographic text in front of its face that read, “Have a fantastic day!”

Royler, the boy who was called on to answer the question, let out a sigh of relief as the holographic image in front of him vanished. Immediately, he began running out of the classroom- the door automatically opening from his presence.

“Hey Alastair, you wanna go to Kasey’s Stripclub again?” Nicolas began, walking over from his desk to take a seat on top of Alastair’s table. “I heard that they’ve recently hired some new felitas. Plus, rumors have it that they’ve added a bunch of crazy new drinks, too!”

“Nah, not today,” Alastair replied, standing up from his seat and pulling out his phone. “Mom wants me to be home early today. Maybe you could go to the club with Yuna and her girls. I bet you guys could all have a nice foursome.”

“Eh? That’s no fun. If you join, then we can make it five! C’mon, let’s live our lives to the fullest! To Kasey’s Stripclub we go-”

“Sorry buck, but I’ve really gotta go. But hey, if you get the chance, tell Yuna that I said thanks for the great sex the other week,” Alastair chuckled as he began walking out of the classroom door. “See ya next week.”

Nicolas shrugged his shoulders as Alastair vanished from his sight. “More ladies for me, I guess.”

###

The walk from the Academy to Alastair’s apartment was rather generous- about twenty minutes or so away. The moon shone brightly in the night sky, followed by the brilliant neon lights of red, violet, blue, and even green hues projecting from the city’s many towers. The buildings in Scorpion City generally reached an astounding height of over 1,000 feet into the air, seemingly touching the clouds. To some, living in Scorpion City felt like walking around as an ant in a rat maze.

Xogrunath walked beside Alastair, strolling down the sidewalk with joyful hops and flailing arms. The walkway that they were in was filled with a river of human lives along with artificial ones. While Alastair was constantly being pushed around due to how dense the population was, Xogruanath simply phased through each and every one of their bodies, remaining unaffected by the laws of physics.

“Ugh, did you really have to make me wait outside the academy for five hours? You know that other people can’t see me, right?” Xogrunath began, pouting at Alastair.

The boy scoffed. “I could care less if other people see you. I just don’t want you to be all up in my face while I’m trying to study.”

Tch. Cocky bastard, X thought.

As Alastair and X continued speed-walking down the street’s sidewalk, following the natural directional flow of the people, he accidentally bumped into a man by his shoulder. While this would generally be a usual occurrence, the man looked at Alastair with eyes that were filled with murderous intent.

But the boy provided no apology and continued on his way after dismissing what he considered to be a minor inconvenience. X shrugged and simply followed behind.

However, the man that Alastair had bumped into grabbed onto the boy’s shoulder and forcefully pulled him backward.

“Hey, looks like you don’t know how things work around here, kid. Aren’t you gonna say sorry?” the man whispered intimidatingly to Alastair. He wasn’t a brute man or anything, but a single look in his eyes made it obvious that murder wasn’t something that the man was afraid of.

“Oh?” X blurted out. “Hey, why don’t you take this time to use your ability on that guy? That’ll be my one request for today.”

“Sure,” Alastair replied, completely ignorant about the fact that the man in front of him was taking a fighting stance.

“I feel real fucking bad for you, kid. You’re unlucky enough to have caught me in a bad mood today…”

Without warning, the man cucked his fist back and took a swing that was directed toward Alastair’s head with all his might. But, without fear, the boy swiftly ducked under the punch, gently tapping the man’s arm as he did so. Immediately, the man’s eyes and mind alike became blurred. The effects of Alastair’s newly acquired power was already beginning to take hold.

“Good, Alastair!” X complimented. “Now give him a command, quick!”

The boy smirked, staring into the man’s clouded eyes. “When a car on the road comes, run into the street and make sure that the car runs you over.”

At that exact moment, Alastair’s victim quickly sprinted into the streets beside them, obeying his master’s command without saying a single word.

…

Ten minutes later, about two police cars had arrived along with an audience of roughly fifty people- men, women, and robots alike. A corpse scattered its limbs throughout the entire street, painting the curb and concrete red, while a blanket from the paramedics was covering the main body that laid itself down in the middle of the road. A car sat its brokenness into the side of a building as heavy fumes of smoke emitted from its engine. Alastair’s command had resulted in a total of four victims that were either murdered or severely injured: the man that walked into the street and got hit by a car, the two people who sat in the car that had crashed into the building, and the pedestrian woman who was unlucky enough to have gotten swept up by the vehicle as it skidded off from the street.

“Wow, Alastair! I’m impressed! For your first time, you’ve already killed four people at once!”

The boy smirked as he nonchalantly walked away from the scene. “Twenty.”

“Hm? Twenty?” X raised an eyebrow as she walked beside Alastair. The two continued making their way toward the boy’s apartment. 

“My twentieth kill.”

…

Hearing that, X let out a faint smile- one that a proud mother would give to her son. “So you were a killer even before meeting me, huh? Impressive, boy!”