Shards of Fire! Shards of Power! Shards of Destruction! They went by many names. It all began when billions of crystalline shards of glass fell from the sky all around the world many years ago, changing the lives and course of human history forever. The shards were different in size and shape, a kaleidoscope of brilliance strewn randomly across the planet as if someone had shattered an intergalactic mirror. The shards all held different and unexpectedly mysterious magical properties, each with their own strengths and unique powers, much like the patterns on a snowflake. Similar to snowflakes, many melted and disintegrated away during their entry into Earth and the ones that made it through merged their essence everywhere including lifeforms such as humans, plants, and animals - with a randomly manifested plethora of properties. These properties include super strength, intelligence, beauty and so much more yet to be discovered.
The devastation completely changed the landscape of the planet, resulting in billions of fatalities and the destruction of numerous cities. Thankfully, a large number of people who had been struck by this celestial event recognised their special abilities and used them to aid humans in survival and reconstruction.
There were small shards that gave some humans elevated powers such as an increase in strength, and speed, while others that were simply unusual. There's a retired nurse who discovered the power to repel restaurant staff from recommending expensive wines that customers couldn't afford to buy. I think that’s a skill most would find useful, wouldn’t you say?
The plants and animals that were imbued with the shards existed as well. In some regions, trees produced a variety of multicoloured fruits that resembled mangoes and oranges, all on the same tree! In certain cities, trees sparkled at night in a variety of colours. The animals that survived with the shards showed no sign of unusual powers except for some elevated strength, size, or speed. There are domesticated animals such as cows that produce a more frothy nutritious form of milk. Shardian-milk became the new talking point for health nuts who at one stage demonized anything produced by animals. There were even seafood delicacies dusted with Shardian powder that are only served in the finest restaurants throughout the world. One of the most sought-after was Shardian-lobster. It would glow green when boiled at a certain temperature and served with the finest Shardian-butter extracted from the highest mountains.
There is, however, one dish to rule them all. Mix a little Shardian-butter and a little Shardian-chicken and you get the ultimate soul-quenching ambrosia, Shardian-Butter-Chicken. Everyone has a story of experiencing telepathic enlightenment with the one supreme cosmic chicken after eating it. For animal lovers, you could get Shardian-pets, such as cats that had a unique shade of colour or dogs with a slightly cuter bark. However, there’s a legend of a Shardian-llama in the highlands of Peru that can do standup comedy and spit in your face if you don’t laugh!
There were some larger shards the size of buildings that gave powers of teleportation, access to portals to unknown depths of space, and some even the ability to harness cosmic energy to heat tea a little faster. Not much is known about these large shards as they were rounded up and hidden away in top-secret facilities for further study. The others that were discovered, were gathered and hoarded by the wealthy who could afford to find and procure hundreds if not thousands of pieces making them even more wealthy and powerful with access to a multitude of powers, unchecked and unregulated.
Then there were the fortunate few where shards landed on their small backyards, some inside their homes. Those who could hide, safeguard, and study it prospered in secret and eventually found wealth and success.
Then there were the bizarre finds of large shards the size of horses, discovered in desolate and forgotten regions mostly ignored by many. The very lucky few who stumbled upon it, created new ways of life, shaping a different destiny in which some have created private lives away from the public eye and rumoured to have even left the world entirely.
All of this gave rise to a colossal Shardian market, both legal and illicit, where people could buy and sell Shardian goods. You could buy novelty pets such as parrots that can perfectly mimic the original destructive sounds of shards as they heard them fall to Earth to exotic temporary power-ups that can artificially increase abilities within humans. Need something to boost your vision? Try the Eagle-Gaze of Clarity. Something to give you physical strength and resilience? Try the Avocado-Elixir of Vigor. It’s still a favourite for those nostalgic about the old suburban life. All of them traded like narcotics.
Then there were the rarest and most unique finds, of the grandest odds: humans that were hit with remarkably special shards, giving them the greatest of all powers ever discovered, even the largest of shards could not match.
Only 4 people were known to have these embedded shards.
First Shard - The Pandora’s Archive - This shard possesses the power of knowledge, otherworldly wisdom and hyper-cognition. It merged with a man named Praj, a teacher from India.
Second Shard - The Piercer Prime - This shard holds the power of speed, agility and flight. It bonded with a schoolgirl named Siu Sin in Mainland China.
Third Shard - The Celestial Flux - This shard has the power of telekinesis, interdimensional phasing and astral projection. It united with a girl named Nambi, a mining labourer from the Congo.
Fourth Shard - The Aegis Axiom - This shard grants super strength, bio-armour, and healing. It merged with a priest named Diego from a small village in Bolivia.
The four became the Sentinels of the Shards. They found each other and vowed to help rebuild the world and protect all that is dear to humanity.
Were there other remarkable humans like these Sentinels? Perhaps there are animals and plants embedded with these precious shards? What kind of powers could they wield? What secrets lay hidden in the deepest and darkest oceans? The search for other extraordinary humans and a complete understanding of the shards' impact on Earth is ongoing. Explorers around the globe are on a quest to find rare shards and discover elusive legends hidden in new uncharted territories. There are tales of ionic energy traps invented by mysterious sea creatures capable of replenishing the energy of used shards. That would indeed be a legendary find.
The shards had unique properties that allowed scientists and gifted minds to harness their power to develop and advance artificial intelligence (AI) that humans had previously created to even greater heights. Shardian-AI was born. A breakthrough in intelligence that made robots more powerful. A vast number and variety of robots were built to help with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Earth. They became crucial for survival and allowed humans the breathing space to heal, reconnect, and grow.
It was such a miraculous progression and rebirth due to the wonders of the shards that the people who were embellished with them came to be known as The Chosen.
The others that did not have such powers and were spared by the onslaught of the shards were merely known as The Plains.
As the years went by, humans began to reconstruct and thrive at blinding speed, they acknowledged the value and power of the shards, especially the humans who were bonded to them. These shards became a sought-after commodity, with ownership often equated to success, status, and fame. Those that withstood being hit by shards merged with human bodies, leaving a mark with symbols and patterns from an alien language. Many survivors displayed these marks as a symbol of celestial blessings, turning them into a fashion statement. Over time, these marks became status symbols of importance and wealth - the ultimate validation of being chosen by the heavens.
Many cities around the world were being rebuilt by the Chosen, expanded, and inevitably encroached on existing cities that survived and displaced people further away from the progress that was meant for all humans. As the years went by, The Plains realized they were being left out of the growth and progress as the Chosen was given sole responsibility for the advancement and upkeep of humanity. After all, they were the ones gifted with the power to do so. Why would you need the Plains? They had to create their own life and survive in the shadows, on the outskirts often having to travel far looking for work inside the Chosen cities.
There was only one city left where the Chosen lived side by side with the Plains but it wasn’t without its fair share of tensions and divisions. There are often protests with occasional violent outbursts leading to deaths and mistrust amongst the residents on both sides.
This is the city of Shardavan. Population 15 million. 7 million Chosen. 8 million Plain. 30 years since the event. It has an inner circular core, a region known as the Crystal District, and an outer core, extending outwards from the edges of the Crystal District like the roots of a tree. This is the Clay District. The city looked like two lifeforms engaged in a precarious symbiotic tug-of-war.
The Crystal District is distinctive with a towering helix-shaped structure right in the epicentre built around a large purple shard that provides the main source of power. This is where the Chosen live, a magnificent creation of human ingenuity with tall buildings, flying machines, and every little mundane thing taken care of by robots from cleaning the streets, to window washing and even gargantuan machines lying in the underbelly of the city that operates the backbone of power generation, transportation, water treatment, and waste removal. Superspeed levitrains connect various parts of the district in minutes, making travel fast and effortless. The air is clean, and the sound of the city is a soft hum of advanced machinery. This has enabled people to live effortlessly and focus on what people want to do, such as art or music. An interconnected city powered by the shards.
The large shard in the centre of the city glows in a subtle purple hue. It is one of the rarest portals in the world that can enable anyone, even large ships to teleport to other parts of the world effortlessly. It’s also the home of the Global Shard Alliance (GSA). The very best of the Chosen minds gathered here to study the phenomenon of the shards falling from the sky, understand their hidden powers, and why they fell on that fateful day. They are hard at work developing technology and advancing humanity ever further. The Crystal District is a marvel of modern technology, epitomising a utopian vision of the future. Powered by the mysterious and potent shard technology, it's a place where the skyline glitters with towering structures made of translucent materials that shimmer with an internal light.
In stark contrast, the Clay District tells a different tale. Devoid of the advancements found in the Crystal District, it thrives on human resilience and resourcefulness. The buildings are predominantly handcrafted, featuring a patchwork of materials, colours, and styles, reflecting the diverse community that has made this district their home. The streets are vibrant and bustling, filled with markets, street performers, and small, family-run shops. In this part of the city, repurposed and discarded robots from the Crystal District find a second life, often jury-rigged by ingenious locals to serve basic functions. A blended city. A rare sight indeed. The people here developed their ways and helped each other live without much influence of the powerful shards. Many residents would find shard scraps and discarded devices, retrofitted with soulful ingenuity to make it work. Crude but functional. It’s a community that has found solace and comradery with what they were given. The air is filled with the sounds of lively conversation, laughter, and the clatter of work. It's a stark contrast to the AI-driven underbelly of the Crystal District, where machines and automated systems work ceaselessly, unseen, and unheard, maintaining the seamless operation of this high-tech paradise.
Shardavan, as a whole, presents a vivid dichotomy—a city split between the pinnacle of technological advancement and the enduring spirit of human values and adaptability.
This is the story of Anu Eshana. A 29-year-old headstrong, determined, and ambitious woman who was born in Shardavan. A Plain. She lives with her loving and devoted father, Jayam and her cat Nala, in an area called Blocs, a place that looks like they were stacked together with irregularly shaped boxes and then fused with clay and glue. Some had large windows and then some smaller ones giving it an uneven, yet dynamic demeanour like it was built with human hands.
Anu works as an independent cyber detective running her agency, Anu Insights, right out of her home on the 3rd floor. One of the rare but available jobs that the Plains can have in the Crystal District considering most of the “important” jobs were given to the Chosen or taken care of by robots. Her job had been pretty regular, often investigating malfunctioning robots and reporting on their failures with the occasional misconduct between a Chosen and a Plain. Her biggest case was of a missing pet that stole a worker robot and flew away.
On the street right below her apartment, her father runs a robotics shop, aptly named The Shardenfruede, building and repairing make-shift robots for the residents. Occasionally Anu works with her father and helps with repairs too. He was also the first engineer in the district to make discarded shards work and developed his own AI.
She’s had this business for a few years and loves every bit of it. She always believed the shards were not a great omen as they killed many humans in the destruction including her mother who died in childbirth bearing her when she was pierced by multiple shards. If it weren’t for the bravery of her father, Anu may have met with the same fate. Her animosity towards the shards is palpable. She would often refer to the Chosen as The Cursed.
One day, early morning, she received a call to investigate a death. In the alleyways of the Crystal District, it was reported that a Chosen had been murdered by an unknown assailant.
Time to get to work… She got ready, fed her cat, put on her favourite detective overcoat, and took her license badge and access card. She came down the stairs in a hurry and her father asked her warmly to eat breakfast before she went. Took a few bites of idiyappam and Sodhi, a local culinary delicacy in the region and then rushed out as she had to travel quite some distance to get to the crime scene. She takes a walk through the winding bustling neighbourhood filled with outdoor vendors, retro restaurants, markets, schools, and mechanics going about their day. She gets to her bus stop at the Rosie Rani station to take the local roverbus to her next stop, a megacentre of city activity… Claytown. A roverbus is powered by a combination of used shards and electric power, operated by a human driver.
This is where she catches a bigger roverbus that will take her to the outer edge of the Crystal District. It doesn’t have enough power to levitate but enough to move across the ground to carry passengers and mostly aunties with their oversized baggage. Most of the workers who do have jobs across the districts travel this way and a common sight every day.
Anu’s access card and badge are scanned through security and an automated levitrain that takes people from the outskirts in minutes crosses a large river to take them directly to Luminara Station - One of many large stations around the district of The Prismatic Promenade. The crime scene is a few blocks from the station so she takes a walk through the high-rise luxury apartments, and entertainment spots, a levitating party bus passes by where a young school team are having their sports victory party. A lot of people just relax at the cafes, doing museum visits at the prestigious Shardian Centre of History and the Memorial of the Lost Light in remembrance of those who lost their lives during the bombardment of the shards.
Behind this bustle were these curvy roads that led down to the service alleys where the maintenance robots would pick up and remove the waste. In one section was a deep corridor, almost secluded under the tall trees and below the levitrain lines.
The scene was quite bloody. Limbs ripped and blown apart from the victim. Anu knew she was Chosen with the markings on her torso with the shape of undulating wave patterns that moved outwards. That usually signifies a power of knowledge. Someone of an academic nature. A researcher or scientist perhaps. When the shards hit the humans many years ago, it left a minute yet indelible trace that can be used to identify any Chosen. Alien markings that are still being deciphered to this day, are completely unsolved even by the best minds at work.
Deadly confrontations are not rare but the bloody and violent nature of this death didn’t sit well with Anu. So violent, the person was unrecognisable. A policebot was on the scene and analyzing the area. Anu was assigned to the case due to a shortage of official detectives. The official detectives were needed for something else more important than this perhaps.
"A PLAINIE Detective!"
A bellowing deep voice echoed across the alleyway, revealing the presence of Police Chief Captain Filner Weasty, a burly and lumbering man with visible jagged markings across his face, clearly indicating his Chosen status. His augmented powers probably just made him a bigger jerk.
"A Plain on a Chosen's case? What's the world coming to?" he grumbled, his bushy eyebrows furrowing in disapproval. Despite his obvious discontent, Anu remained unfazed, her focus trained on the gruesome scene before her. She had a mystery to solve, and Captain Weasty's prejudices were the least of her concerns.
"Yup, plain-old-me," said Anu confidently.
"Oh… that’s a good one," murmured Weasty. "Here are the initial reports and one eyewitness who ran away. Chase them down and finalize it." Weasty surveyed the scene again. "This looks a bit rough but nothing special. Good old Shardavan."
"Nothing special?" Anu exclaimed, shocked at the lack of empathy shown by the captain who spoke as if gruesome murders just happen.
"This is a life lost, Captain. Every case is special," Anu stated firmly, her gaze never leaving the crime scene. She collected the reports, her mind already whirring with theories and questions. The day promised to be anything but ordinary.
"By the book detective… I like it," Weasty said, looking in apparent shock at a Plain taking their job seriously. "Chase that lead, find the eyewitness, and report back to me when you do."
As Weasty was about to leave, he screamed, "Be careful where you go around here!" He got inside his police runner and it rose up and steadily flew back to Central Justice. A runner is a flying police vehicle powered by a crystal ion engine. It’s one of the many uses the humans discovered with the shards. They come in many colours. It all depends on the power it emanates. This one was white. Medium-powered shards, good enough to fly a car-sized vehicle inside the city. Blue shards were the lowest-powered shards but good enough for a little city bike to hover so a resident could visit friends and gorge on some Shardian-latte for breakfast. The GSA has even built a massive spaceship that roams the solar system and has one of the most powerful shards of all. The Purple Shard. Powerful enough to propel a starship into space to distances we are yet to discover. One of them is GSA-EX1, the first of its kind, powered by AI and roams by itself looking for the cosmic origins of the Shardian Fate. Progress some would say, even though the Plain cities can’t afford to use one. Invention is one thing, accessibility is another.
Back to the case… dismembered body of an apparent scholarly person. In this alleyway quite deep tucked away behind the promenade. High walls to keep peeping toms at bay. No quick exits unless the suspect could fly up and away like the Captain did. Will need to check for any surveillance in this direction of anything that flew out of here at the time of the incident. All of these tall buildings here must have cameras looking in this direction. Hundreds of them. There are deep heat vents that go underneath that are managed and monitored by robots. If anyone could escape through there, the robots would have already detected it.
Policebots, often referred to colloquially as Peebee’s, were in the area scanning for clues to the murder. They were created when the tensions between the Chosen and Plains got a bit out of hand a few years ago leading to the biggest death count on record. Well over a hundred people died. How could this happen? Why would such amazing progress leaving out the other half of humanity from advancements lead to such resistance? Unheard of! The powers-that-be, Shardavan Central, The Crystal Leadership, simply known as The Crystal Cocks amongst the Plains, are transparent in the views that the world can only progress with the Chosen. Well yes, they were instrumental in getting the world back together after such a devastating barrage that brought humanity to its knees.
Back to the case… Other than flying away or down through the vents, what other way could the assailant have gone? Assuming it’s one assailant. This could not be pulled off by just one person.
Humanity has progressed in every way imaginable, however, the trauma of the past still lingers on. Their excuse is that it could happen again and it’s better to be prepared than to be complicit. They have a point, but when it became a system to maintain the status quo to give more preferences to the Chosen, which was merely the luck of the heavens, society became divided.
Anu was a witness to this divide, having grown up in the Clay District and lived the preferential treatment received by the Chosen. She saw how her father was mistreated and never allowed to become the robotics engineer he always wanted to be. He would have been a leading voice at the GSA. Instead, he’s working on scraps and rebuilding old decommissioned robots. However, he is not resentful at all. He took the opportunity with open arms and is the leading robotics builder in all of Clay District.
Anu, on the other hand, carried a chip on her shoulder. The unfairness of the situation rankled her. She was not as forgiving and believed in justice and equality, a world where Plains and Chosen could coexist without the barriers of prejudice and preferential treatment. That’s probably a pipe dream but a good dream nonetheless and Anu will do no less to ensure society moves in that direction.
Back to the case… Who killed this Chosen and why?
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