Prologue Part 1

In 1971, a group of scientists created a formula that would give humans increased intelligence, speed, strength, and longevity. However, one of the scientists was working on a separate project. One that would give humans access to "wish energy." One day, the two serums mixed, unknown the the entire group. Since it was an underground project, the scientists tested it on themselves. The enhancement worked, but they changed into something else. These scientists worked tirelessly to perfect this serum, and they also experimented with the wish energy. Finally, in 2035, the scientists announced a new data server, and launched 20 satellites, orbiting the Earth, for it. That was the public front. In reality, the satellites would be used to monitor wishes, provide the cellular network, and relay the wishes to The Somnium Epithymia. After the satellites were launched, the group of scientists moved to the The Somnium Epithymia, the space station orbiting around the North Star. These scientists brought with them 8 children, who were trained to be the original 8 agents. The job of these agents would be to grant certain wishes that the satellites record, and fulfill them. After 15 years, the organization is doing very well. New agents are brought on every six months, from ages 3-5. If the children are younger than 5, they will not have their memories wiped. If they are 5, they will. Each child undergoes 3-5 years of training, depending on the age when they were brought to the Somnium Epithymia. The agents refer to the Somnium Epithymia as Aether. They will have limited interaction with their peers, except for the 7 other children in their group, or "pod." At 8, each child will be assigned a mentor to determine and develop the child's certain skill set. At 12, each child picks a partner from his or her age group. The children tend to pick partners from their pod, since they know these children, out of all their peers, the best. Then the newly inducted agents head out on missions, and the cycle continues.

Prologue Part 2

I boarded a Genesis-class cruiser to Earth. I was on a mission to recruit two new agents for a pod. The pilot turned to me

"What's the mission, Recruiter Osborne?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Just picking up two new agents." I replied, consulting my datapad. There were two mini-bios on the screen. The first one was Scott Griffin. A 4-year old living in California, and the second one was Helen Edwards. Another 5-year old that was living in Maryland, in a homeless shelter. "Okay, Pilot Washington, take me down to Los Angeles." I said, looking up.

"Roger that." Pilot Washington said, initiating the start-up sequence. "Strap in. This might be a bit bumpier than normal. Scanners indicate a solar flare from Polaris." I buckled the safety harness, and secured my equipment. The cruiser soared out of the docking bay and into the darkness of space. 10 minutes later, the spaceship was hovering over downtown Los Angeles.

"Okay, stay here. I shouldn't be long." I said, inputting the coordinates for Griffin's bedroom into my short-range teleporter. I activated it and instantly zipped from the cruiser to the room. I pulled a syringe out of my pocket. I quickly jabbed it into his neck. The kid instantly fell into a deeper sleep. I reversed the coordinates on the teleporter, and returned to the ship. "Pilot Washington, take us to Annapolis. We have one more stop to make before returning to the Aether."

"Copy that." Pilot Washington said, adjusting some instruments and flicking some switches. A few minutes later, I had teleported into the homeless shelter. I scanned the building for the life signs resembling Helen Edwards'. There were no matches.

"Recruiter Osborne to Aether. I've run into a slight issue. Prospective agent Helen Edwards isn't in her recorded location." It took a few minutes before the agents in the control room responded.

"We have analyzed the surrounding area in a radius of two miles. We have one match for her life signs in the Annapolis Mall. Aether CC out."

"Roger that, Aether CC. Moving out." I said. Once I arrived at the mall, I swept the area again. "Gotcha." I said out loud, moving towards the blinking dot on my radar. A call came in on my comlink. It was from Pilot Washington.

"Time's almost up, agent."

"Okay. I'm almost done." I answered. As I approached the dot, a shadow darted behind me. I raised my fists. A little kid jumped at me. I knocked her down. My datapad identified her as Helen Edwards. I jabbed her with another syringe, and she fell asleep. I picked her up and carried her onto the cruiser. As soon as I had secured her in the ship, we flew back to Aether. As we were flying I radioed in to the control center.
"This is Recruiter Osborne. I have the two prospective agents on board and ready for evaluation."

"Copy that, Recruiter. A team will be waiting at Docking Bay A4. Please relay these instructions to your Pilot." said a crackly voice in my ear.

"Pilot, please land this cruiser in Docking Bay A4." I called to Pilot Washington. He swiftly turned the ship so that it would land where we wanted it to, and brought the ship into the docking bay. As we disembarked, a team of agents boarded the ship, and got Scott and Helen.

"You did well, Osborne. We'll take it from here." the captain said, as the rest of his team was moving over to the elevator.

"Okay." I replied, already moving to another elevator. I needed a nap.