[21 FEBRUARY 2039]

*WELCOME, LIEUTENANT AVYAN VARMA*
*SPEECH TO TEXT: ON*

Earth... such a beautiful place to live in, isn't it? Lush, green trees and dense forests all around and blue sea rolling over this gigantic planet's surface. We, as humans, have evolved and adapted through so much over thousands of years, creating and discovering things and creatures of wonder. I believe that the most intriguing part of nature is the universe itself. When we look at the night sky, full of glittering planets, galaxies and star systems similar to our own, we tend to wonder, "Are we alone?" I used to have this thought all the time. So, did Yuri Gagarin and his crew, who flew off into space in search of answers in 12 April 1961 in the first crewed spacecraft named Vostok 1. That was a massive feat for science and humanity. That moment in history inspired me to follow a difficult but quite a rewarding profession.

My name's Avyan Varma, tall guy, luscious long hair and probably, quite a handsome face! I'm twenty-nine years old. I was born to my parents whom I don't know and I ended up spending most of my childhood in an orphanage in Aurangabad. I got no romantic partners. Nope. I don't have time for all that. Space is my first love; piloting is my second. I'm starting this journal to record my experiences in this new adventure I'm about to embark in. This is the introductory log entry, so how about we catch up a little for today, eh? I don't have a lot to say in this first entry anyway.

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A lil' about me first! When I was young, stars and planets were all I could ever think of. Eventually, after a lot of hard work and rigorous training, I entered the Union Army.
I served as a pilot in the Union Air for five years and have been recently transferred to the space division, Orbital Alliance. I have been assigned to work in the space station called the Black Pearl, revolving around Triton which is one of the many moons of Neptune.

I am on my way there right now, actually. I know it's an important job but it's so cool! How far we've come, right?

But, life was simple back then, when I was a kid. It is the year 2039, of course, and the world has changed significantly since the days of my innocent childhood.

You see, the Five Year Massacre, also known as the Global War ended in 1980 with a truce. Eventually, to pool in resources and funds together, several countries joined hands and went on to form the World Council and its subordinate organizations in 1985. Stay with me, it starts to get interesting now.

Conveniently or inconveniently, an asteroid, approximately 6 feet wide in diameter, crashed that same year in an abandoned village in Canada. No casualties were recorded, thank god. However, by the time the news media captured pictures of the crash and local authorities sent a team to investigate, they were surprised to find no signs of the meteorite except for a peculiarly dark, glittery crater.
This caused confusion and panic for weeks.
As geologists and scientists took over the area for research and study, they realized something quite intriguing.

It was found that an unknown material that made up most of the meteor reacted with the soil. Whatever this new compound was, it dissolved with the groundwater and eventually got into rivers and eventually, the Pacific Ocean.

We started to call it the Compound X. At around this time, our space ventures were becoming more widespread. Every country wanted to have a shot in researching stuff present in the Moon and Mars. Unbeknownst to us, we had consequently drawn the attention of the populace of a certain planet called Isnen.

One day, a fisherman in the Pacific Coast of Japan saw a scrawny one-eyed figure fiddling its three fingered 'hands' in the water, holding a device that was beeping intensely.

When he went to investigate, well, he described that experience as a nightmare in the daylight, to say the least. That creature shrieked and snarled with razor sharp teeth that had a blue tint to them. I mean, naturally, we figured it must be the Isnenis, right? We're not that dumb, you know? Hypothetically, Compound X would have been some sort of scarce resource for those slimy beasts to be so very interested in it.

We were wrong, well partially.

This Compound X is the unprocessed form of a drug; an extremely valuable drug. A more refined Compound X, also called the Elixir, grants explosive strength, power and vitality.

However, consuming it is fatal. It is a last resort; a final stand in battle against an enemy far stronger than you. The ones who die to the Elixir's after-effects are considered to be honorable soldiers who are celebrated and respected by the population of Isnen. It's like tradition, I guess.
Now, the Isnenis wanted the Compound X that had become scarce in their planet. They were willing to do anything to obtain it; they were obsessed.

They never even tried to communicate with us. One unwary night, they loomed over the Pacific Ocean, undetected by our scanners and security systems. By the next morning, the sea level fell by sixteen centimeters; the Pacific Ocean was being sucked dry. The Council members tried to be the good guys, they really did. But, they refused all attempts of communication. Military forces from US, Russia and India intercepted the ship first.
Then, we realized how overwhelmed we were.
In a mere span of five minutes, the entire attack force was obliterated.

Then, came the nuclear missiles. But the ship didn't even budge. "It's all because of that damned shield," was what the pilots from the bomber jets exclaimed, before going down in flames themselves. They didn't know what to do. They didn't even know if they could do anything at that point.

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A month later, the ship finally left, unharmed, leaving Earth with its sea level lowered by five meters.

Most of the major harbors were high and dry; the world trade was interrupted drastically. This event led to several regional famines and the deaths of thousands of people.

A monopoly slowly formed over common, basic resources and the economies collapsed in several coastal countries. Ashes on concrete, explosion marks, bullet holes and blood stains here and there became a common sight to behold.
People would break into hospitals; children would be seen walking alone in ragged clothes looking for their parents; graves and memorials became busy destinations.

It was a tough time for humanity back then.

In an act of hopelessness, the Union Army issued an operation to drop thermobaric bombs on the ice caps in Antarctica. Glaciers evaporated and melted; Antarctica became a barren wasteland; the sea level slowly got back to normal and yeah, the situation started to get better from there. I mean, it wasn't as easy as I'm making it sound but with time, we united, improved and now we're here. I'm proud to say we've gotten stronger since then.

Although, even today, we're no match against those slimy bastards if they ever declared war on us...not in terms of firepower, at least.

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Oh! We're here! Oh my god, it's beautiful! It's glistening. The only shining pearl in the empty sky, huh? The Black Pearl truly does deserve its name. Well, we're docking now. Log entries might become irregular from now on, but I'll be busy so I can't help it.

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So, bye!

*END LOG*