Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 20 | The Retro-ist | Novela.app

“...” Valen stared silently at Raytin. “?” Raytin looked back at Valen with an expression of pure innocence. “...So you’re here,” Valen sighed, adjusting his chair from a recliner to a standard seat before pulling over another chair from the side. “Sit. I heard you were injured. Are you alright now? How’s your body feeling?” “Oh... I’m fine. It was just a minor injury.” The youth sat down obediently, his posture upright with hands resting on his knees—a stance clearly forged by military academy training. *He’s so well-behaved that you’d never guess he’s the type to gamble his life by dealing himself a fatal blow just to take down an enemy...* Valen thought idly as he granted Raytin visual access to his interface. “I’m playing a game, *Galactic Superpower War*. Ever played it?” “Never,” Raytin shook his head. “My home was too remote, right at the tip of the Orion Arm.” The main service base for the interstellar network of the explorable universe was located at the core headquarters of the Galactic Complex, near the Galactic Center. This modest barred spiral galaxy held at least a hundred billion stars. Even if only a small fraction met the conditions for life, at least eight billion stars currently shone upon various races and civilizations. The Star Net service was not infinite. The fairness the base provided to the inhabitants of the galaxy took the form of a multi-layered radiation sphere. This sphere consisted of one hundred and twenty-eight layers; from the center to the periphery, the complexity of information one could receive decreased with every layer. The "New Solar System" where Raytin was born was located at the very end of the Orion Arm, belonging to the 127th layer of the Galactic Star Net... Further out, the only place where a civilization had once existed was the ruins of the Origin System in the 128th layer. Even in the current interstellar era, the transmission of information still relied on various "waves." No matter how strong or stable a wave was, it always possessed the property of "dispersion." The expansion of the Star Net relied on this dispersion, which naturally meant it could not avoid the subsequent "attenuation." Generally speaking, to receive a significant amount of information from the Galactic Star Net, one had to be within the 120th gateway. To receive the latest entertainment news or play online games, one needed to be within the 110th layer. “I didn’t even have an optical computer until I was fifteen,” Raytin said, gesturing to the device by his ear. “The model I’m using now is very old. I bought it with money from part-time jobs; I don’t even know how many hands it’s passed through.” “Hmm?” Valen paused. “The Academy didn’t issue you guys a standardized set? In the past... er, I heard they used to give these to freshmen.” “No,” Raytin replied with a shake of his head. “I heard that after a war ten years ago, the funding the Academy could apply for was slashed.” “...” Raytin could swear on his metallic calcium that Valen froze upon hearing those words. However, the man said nothing more. Two and a half seconds later, he abruptly turned back, refocusing his attention on the game before him. “I really didn't expect the Federation’s situation to have deteriorated to this level,” Valen said. “I don’t browse the forums much, so I really wasn’t aware of this.” “You wouldn’t see it even if you did. Public forums don’t allow discussions of internal school issues. That’s something only found on the student Alpha forums,” Raytin explained. “Alpha...” Valen murmured the word, then suddenly chuckled. “What an enviable word.” Raytin felt he might have said the wrong thing. He blinked awkwardly, unsure if he should apologize. That said, with the power of modern technology, there were countless varieties of personal pheromone suppressors. Aside from places like schools, corporations, and government departments that issued standardized accessories with built-in suppression effects to their personnel, almost every Alpha and Omega had their own custom suppressor. These private civilian suppressors came in many forms. Aside from the rule that they "must be in direct contact with the skin of the neck," which could be used to identify them, likely only their owners knew exactly where they were. Valen clearly disliked wearing the branded accessories of the company he worked for. At least, in all this time, Raytin hadn't seen him wear that thing once. Currently, Valen wore two metal necklaces—one short, one long—hanging with different small ornaments. The chains themselves contained extremely complex electronic circuits... To be fair, every profession has its specialty. Raytin was currently in a state of "unrefined skill" regarding electronic instruments; at a glance, he couldn't tell what they were for. Naturally, he couldn't distinguish which of the six genders the other person belonged to either. However, judging by the other's tone, he didn't seem to be an Alpha... A Beta, then? He probably wasn't an Omega... No, that was too stereotypical; he shouldn't think that way. Many of his classmates were Omegas who didn't fit society's expectations, and they were all perfectly fine people. While Raytin was lost in these stray thoughts, Valen spoke up again with an air of nonchalance. “I’m a Beta. I was born without the ability to smell pheromones. I’ve always been curious about what that’s like.” “...” Raytin’s lips twitched. *So that’s why he felt regret?!* “I really don’t understand the world of you Alphas and Omegas...” As Valen spoke, he suddenly remembered that the person beside him was the student widely recognized as the "Sun's" strongest Alpha of the year. His expression turned odd for a moment before he turned to ask, “Little Ray, do you usually smell other people’s pheromones?” Raytin thought to himself that he’d smelled plenty since his differentiation. Furthermore, the Logistics Department’s endurance training included a project specifically for resisting targeted attraction, and he had performed excellently in it—straight A’s as always. But aloud, he said, “Where would there be so many pheromones to smell in school?” “True.” Valen was easily diverted, skipping over the topic. Of course, it was also possible he simply didn't want to dwell on such unnecessary things. Then, he summoned a service drone from within the shop and took two cans of chilled juice from the freezer. Raytin "caught" them without moving a muscle; the juice cans landed steadily on the table, and the sealed pull-tabs opened silently, falling into the recycling bin with a crisp scent. “How convenient,” Valen remarked with genuine admiration. He picked up his can of juice and looked at it. “Fomalhaut Rainbow Bubble Fruit? ...What on earth is this? Why does the packaging look like a pile of multicolored eyeballs?” While he was pondering, Raytin took a sip of the juice. His expression changed slightly. Valen frowned. “What’s wrong?” “...No, nothing,” Raytin said. “It’s not poisonous. Why don’t you try it?” “...Oh.” Valen gave him a meaningful look, then tilted his head back and took a gulp. “...” The black-haired slacker manager’s face contorted. His gaze shot toward Raytin like a bolt of lightning. Unfortunately, he only saw the back of the black-haired youth, because the boy had already vaulted up and sprinted to the recycling area to start gagging. *Dammit!* he thought. *How has the taste of this stuff become even more anti-human after all these years?!* ... ... Three minutes later, after both had finished retching, they returned to their chairs with a glass of water each. “Can I ask why you bought that stuff...” Raytin said weakly. He felt that the knife through his heart hadn't dealt him as much damage as that drink. “What even was that...” “Heaven knows. It smelled fine, but it tasted as disgusting as the blood of some weird celestial beast... Not that I’ve ever tasted that...” Valen’s eyes were glazed. “I’m releasing them back into the wild later...” Raytin leaned his head on his hand and sighed. “Change the subject, change the subject.” Valen waved his hand, trying to make them both forget that horrific sensory torture. “Did you know? We’re actually currently at the edge of the 86th and 85th layers of the Galactic Star Net. I remember there’s a Star Gate not far ahead. Soon, you’ll be able to see with your own eyes how a starship passes through one. “By the way, this Star Gate is a long-distance transport gate—the kind that takes over a hundred years to build. Its locked coordinates are at... forget it, I can’t remember. Anyway, this jump should take us directly to around the 60th layer...” Valen paused, then added, “...Assuming they haven't forgotten to move the 'opposite gate's' position over the last few years.” “‘Move’?” Raytin, who was drinking water, was stunned. “Galaxies rotate, and Star Gates are generally anchored completely in ‘space’,” said Valen, who had also picked up his water glass. “If you don’t move them, sooner or later some planet is going to slam into the gate at a speed that would make a void-racing ship look slow, resulting in a spatial annihilation storm. A black hole would be left behind, and nothing nearby would escape.” Raytin’s mood fluctuated between *‘Wow, that’s cool’* and *‘Intelligent beings exist just to see how fast they can die,’* before he decided to drop the issue. “In that case, won’t we reach the Capital System very soon? I remember it’s in the 40th layer.” “It’s not that simple,” Valen said. “Like I said, galaxies have orbits and rotations.” “...” Raytin was slightly taken aback. “Are you saying the *Sun* can’t fly in a straight line?” Valen laughed. “You can drop the questioning tone from that sentence.” As he spoke, he was still operating the game interface. Through brainwaves, eye-tracking, and subtle physical movements, he fluidly selected the 【Prepare for Battle】 option. In the virtual projection, a handsome white-haired man with the ID ‘Half-Life’ opened his blue eyes. He rolled out of bed in his pajamas, and in a flash of light, he changed into a new outfit. It was a set of clothes that would look unfamiliar to most citizens of interstellar society, but according to Valen, this outfit was one of the most popular in the game’s ‘Retro-ism’ style series. Raytin’s eye twitched involuntarily when he heard the name. He was starting to develop PTSD regarding the term ‘Retro-ism.’ But Valen, who had entered the arena in the final minute of preparation, clearly didn't notice his unease. He even gestured to enlarge the projection until it covered half the shop, asking, “Do you know what the design style of this outfit is based on?” “A Western Cowboy...” Raytin answered with a sigh. 【—Welcome our star competitor, ‘Half-Life’!】 Flowers, ribbons, and stars—which had become a standardized set of symbols over the years—were tossed into the air, the illusory projections fluttering around the two of them. In such an atmosphere, Valen glanced at the youth who, despite his young age, lacked the flightiness of other modern youngsters and even possessed a fair amount of knowledge from the Origin System era. He remarked with heartfelt conviction: “They were right. You really are a Retro-ist.” *** **Glossary** Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation ---|---|--- 银河综合体 | Galactic Complex | The central administrative/hub area of the galaxy. 银核 | Galactic Center | The center of the Milky Way. 猎户旋臂 | Orion Arm | The spiral arm of the galaxy where Earth/New Solar System is located. 星网 | Star Net | The interstellar internet/communication network. 新太阳系 | New Solar System | Raytin's home system. 始源星系 | Origin System | The original solar system (Earth's system). 六元性别 | Six-gender system | Refers to the ABO (Alpha/Beta/Omega) system combined with male/female. 北落师门彩虹泡果 | Fomalhaut Rainbow Bubble Fruit | A fictional, terrible-tasting alien fruit/juice. 星门 | Star Gate | A massive structure for long-distance interstellar travel. 复古主义 / 复古主义者 | Retro-ism / Retro-ist | A cultural movement or individual favoring ancient (Earth-era) styles and knowledge. 半衰期 | Half-Life | Valen's gaming ID. 银河超能战争 | Galactic Superpower War | The name of the popular online game.