Stardust Remembrance

Chapter 1 Preface (1)

Prologue 1

In the vastness of space.

There are thousands of stars shining.

I don't know which planet my past is on.

Nor do I know which planet my future is on.

Who am I?

Where did I come from?

Where am I going?

These three questions are said to be the ultimate ponderings of philosophers about life, from the AD chronology of the ancient Earth to the nebular chronology of the interstellar age, and they remain unanswered.

The average person can easily answer these three questions, but I, standing in the courtroom as a military felon in a prison uniform, could not do so.

Six days ago, in the middle of a sparse, yellow bush, I opened my eyes.

Standing on the moor in a long, dirty dress, looking out over the vast expanse of fields, my mind was so blank that I couldn't remember anything. No idea who I was, no idea where I had come from, and no idea where I was going.

"Hello."

"Hello?"

I yelled as hard as I could over and over again, but there was no sound other than the whine of the wind blowing through the bushes as if I were the only one left in heaven and earth.

I picked a direction at random and walked in a daze, hoping to see someone.

But after walking for three whole days and three nights, I didn't meet a single person.

I was tired, hungry, fearful, and desperate, when suddenly, I saw an apple tree on a hillside not far away, with a craggy trunk and yellowed branches, but bearing a few reddish-colored fruits.

I stumbled over, picked the apple, and devoured it.

I had just eaten half of the apple when there was a roaring sound overhead.

Following the sound, a blimp stopped in mid-air, heavily armed soldiers raising their guns at me.

With the remaining half of the apple in my mouth and the other apple in my hand, I raised my hand.

For the crime of genetic theft, I was imprisoned.

It was said that the apple tree was a variety from Ancient Earth with very rare genes. The Al Empire deliberately imitated the ancient Earth's ecological environment and built the 9737 satellite into a genetic research base, specializing in the study of ancient genes, which is the Empire's scientific research and is very tightly guarded.

Because I was caught in the act, I can only plead guilty.

If it was only a crime of genetic theft, the sentence would probably be more than a hundred years, which is not a desperate punishment compared to the average human lifespan of more than three hundred years.

However, I don't have an identity yet.

Citizens of the Al Empire are genetically tested at birth to obtain their identity code, a small chip that can be implanted in their skin or placed in a personal terminal they carry with them. This identity chip is needed to read, work, live, and even emigrate to other star nations, and I had nothing on me that could identify me.

The judge ordered a basic genetic test for me to use to find my identity.

In the end, the Imperial Brain gave the search result: no such person was found.

A person who shouldn't even exist within the Al Empire's starfield had appeared in a scientific research center that was comparable to a military forbidden zone, what was the rational explanation?

My identity changed from an unknown Imperial citizen to a spy of another country who secretly infiltrated a scientific research forbidden area by illegal means, and the crime changed from genetic theft to endangering Imperial security.

"...... Based on the crime committed, this court pronounces the sentence of Article 777 to be carried out on Ms. Doe, who illegally infiltrated Base 9737, without stimulating psychological fear, without triggering physiological discomfort, and without terminating all life characteristics ...... "

It took me a moment to realize that the sentence was a "painless death".

Based on the facts in front of me, this should be considered a fair and humane trial, but as a person who was about to be executed, I felt wronged.

The guards escorted me into a room that was not the cell I had been in for the past few days. The beige-colored room was decorated with a few pots of green plants, and in the middle there was a small dining table with a steaming meal on it, making it look very cozy.

A handsome man wearing a white military doctor's uniform spread his hands in a very gentlemanly manner, indicating an invitation, "Hello, I'm Dr. Mu, this is the dinner prepared for you, I hope you like it."

Without a word, I sat down at the table and buried my head in my mouth.

It tastes like chewing wax, and I don't know what flavor it tastes like in my mouth. When I thought that in ten hours I would be executed without pain, and I didn't even know who I was, I couldn't help but feel sad, and tears rolled down my face uncontrollably.

Dr. Mu came over and sat opposite me.

Perhaps it was too much in my heart, and I couldn't help but confide, "I was just so hungry that I wanted to eat two apples, I didn't even know it was so rare."

"You knew it was called an apple, but you didn't know it was rare?" Dr. Mu had a mocking smile on his lips.

I wiped my tears and didn't know how to answer. After a few days of trial in a row, I already knew that the apple I stole was not even visible on the market and that the fruit that was now called an apple differed greatly from the ancient apple's appearance. In a sense, the apple that I stole and ate was considered an ancient creature, and it was impossible for people who didn't study paleontology to recognize it.

Dr. Mu leaned forward and stared at me with a burning gaze, "Who you are, how did you sneak into the base, and what is your purpose, I don't care, I came to make a deal with you."

Confused, I asked, "Who are you?"

He smiled slightly and said slowly, "Dr. Mu, responsible for carrying out your execution, making sure that the execution process does not stimulate your psychological fear or trigger your physical discomfort."