Hal eased the car down onto the landing pad beside a circular building made of brick with a dome shaped roof. A banner fluttered in front, its bold lettering reading: "Welcome Earth! Intro to the Cosmos Inside!"

  With her usual cheerful energy, Peggy announced, “We’re here!”

  Peggy wasted no time popping open the rear doors, and everyone climbed out. Before Nate and Yoli could take another step, she pulled them both into a warm, motherly hug.

  “Now listen, sweeties." she said, squeezing them gently. “I know everything’s going to seem big, foreign, and downright overwhelming at first. But don't worry, take it all in at your own pace. You’ll digest it in due time. And most importantly, don’t be afraid to ask questions. These teacher types love it when you do. They only pick the passionate ones for this kind of work, not the stuffy research folks.”

  Yoli smiled. “Thanks so much for the tour. It was awesome! We’re planning to stop by later for dinner and maybe a room if you don’t mind?”

  Peggy gasped, placing a hand over her chest in exaggerated offense. “Mind? Sugar, I’d be downright insulted if you didn’t!” She pulled Yoli in for another tight hug. “Me and my babies will set you up nicely. Come on by whenever you’re ready.”

  With that, Nate and Yoli waved goodbye to Peggy and Hal before turning toward the building where their next step in this mind-bending day awaited.

  The interior was a bland, under funded academic aesthetic. White walls with blue linoleum like tiles and inspirational posters on the wall inviting students to dream big and look to the stars. A wide, rounded hallway stretched out before them, with a pair of double doors directly ahead. To their left, a sign pointed toward restrooms, and another indicated there was an office to the right.

  As they approached the double doors, Nate reached out instinctively searching for handles only to realize there were none. Before he could voice his confusion, the doors suddenly slid open with a sharp whoosh.

  Nate hesitated for a moment before stepping through. As soon as he and Yoli cleared the threshold, the doors snapped shut just as quickly as they had opened. He shuddered. “Man, I’d hate to get caught between those.”

  Before Yoli could respond, another set of doors across the room opened, and a figure strode in. The being resembled Clive the attendant they had met earlier but they carried themself with a certain confidence that suggested authority.

  The room itself was circular, mirroring the building’s shape. Tiered stadium style seating encircled a central platform, which immediately flickered to life with a projected image above it. The projection displayed what they instantly recognized as The Hub, however it was from the outside. Suspended in the air, the structure resembled a massive football encased in shimmering panels, reflecting light in all directions. It was spinning as well, Nate couldn't tell how fast but imagined just enough to create a feeling of gravity inside the space station.

  As Nate and Yoli made their way down the steps, they found seats on the second row, sinking into plush, throne-like cushions.

  Nate let out a satisfied sigh. “Finally, a chance to sit.”

  Yoli smirked. “Long day, huh?”

  Playing along, Nate groaned, “Yeah, these stairs really took it out of me.”

  Yoli rolled her eyes playfully.

  Before they could continue their banter, the instructor approached.

  She was a humanoid with soft, green-tinted skin and warm, inquisitive eyes. Her presence was immediately welcoming. “Hello! I’m Clover, and I’ll be your instructor today. Thanks for coming!”

  Nate, now feeling a bit more at ease speaking with aliens, responded, “Thanks for having us. Seemed like the logical next step after, well, the absurdity we’ve seen so far.”

  Clover chuckled. “I can imagine.” She raised her wrist, and a faint light glowed from a device attached to it. “We have a couple of minutes before we start. How’s your day been so far?”

  Nate leaned forward, intrigued. “Wait, what was that just now?”

  Clover glanced at her wrist again. “Oh, my watch?”

  “You have watches here?”

  She grinned. “Well, yeah. How else would I know what time it is?”

  Yoli laughed at Nate’s baffled expression.

  “Sorry," he said, shaking his head. “It’s just everything here is so different. So futuristic.”

  Clover nodded in understanding. “That makes sense. To be fair, there are plenty of ways to tell time. My link can do it, and some people even get their link implanted which gives them a heads-up display in their vision that they can customize.”

  Nate’s eyebrows shot up. “An implant? That sounds kind of cool.”

  Clover chuckled. “It is, especially if you have a use for it. A lot of contractors have them, for obvious reasons.”

  “Contractors?” Nate asked.

  “Oh mercenary types." she explained. “They handle hazardous work across the galaxy. Anyway, the implant is handy since you can summon the display whenever you need it, and they’re pretty secure. But honestly? Anxiety won that battle for me.”

  Yoli nodded. “Yeah, I can see that.”

  Clover glanced at her watch again. “Ah, time’s up.” She looked around the mostly empty classroom and smiled. “Looks like it’s just us three, that’s fun. I love smaller classes. It’s more intimate, and I get to learn as much about you and your world as you do about ours.”

  She motioned to the projection above them. “Plus, I think your world has only sent, what, fifty people so far? And your vote results aren’t even in yet. It makes sense that it’s still quiet here. But depending on how your planet votes, it’s gonna get real busy in about a week.”

  She clapped her hands together, her eyes twinkling with excitement. “Alright, let’s get started!”

  Clover stepped onto the platform in the center of the room, raising her arms toward the floating, glass-like structure suspended in the air. It was an elongated sphere and reflective, its mirrored surface catching the ambient light like a massive floating jewel.

  "This," she announced, "is The Hub."

  With a flick of her wrist, the display expanded, pulling back to reveal more of the surrounding structures. Several cubic stations appeared around The Hub, all sharing a similar mirrored exterior, though one stood out much larger and more imposing than the rest.

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  Clover pointed toward the smaller structures. "These are defense platforms. The Peace Keepers maintain them to protect us from potential spatial anomalies and any external threats that could jeopardize The Hub."

  She then gestured to a large cube-shaped structure floating near The Hub, its surface darkened in places, giving it an imposing presence.

  "This." she said, "is the Gemhold. It's a galactic prison complex. Unfortunately, this lesson doesn't allow us to spend much time on it, which is a shame, but I'll give you the short version." She folded her arms. "We use a highly complex system of Connection gems and technology to create enclosed environments on member planets' home worlds, allowing inmates to rehabilitate in a more natural space rather than a confined, lifeless cell. Not everyone qualifies for such accommodations as some prisoners are far too dangerous and must be kept in highly controlled conditions for the safety of everyone else."

  She tapped her wrist device again, and the image zoomed out further. The structures around The Hub shrank as the display shifted into a breathtaking view of the Milky Way galaxy.

  "This," she said with a knowing smile, "I’m sure you recognize our home, the Milky Way."

  Hundreds of bright green lights flickered across the galactic map, scattered in different regions of space.

  "These." Clover gesturing to the green dots, "are all the planets that are currently part of The Union. It’s important to note that not all these are inhabited like they used to be. In fact the vast majority of sentient species were made extinct by the Vortani except for the five major ones. The populations of the others are extremely small and are still working on rebuilding hundreds of years later. More on that later."

  Two yellow lights appeared on the display. "These are planets with sentient life that we are monitoring. Worlds that have not yet been invited to join. One of those is yours so hopefully you turn green here soon!"

  "Finally." Clover continued, "these are planets with sentient life that have chosen not to join The Union." Five orange lights pulsed faintly on the display.

  "These reflect the Leonid Empire who choose not to join the Union after the Great Vortani Conflict." she added. Clover sighed. "As you can see, it’s incredibly rare, but it does happen."

  “So only two planets, including us, Earth I mean, have gotten to a point where they could even be invited?”

  "As you can imagine, it takes an incredibly long time for life to evolve to the point of being capable of reason, rational thought, societal development, and technological advancement." Clover said. "While we consider all planets as original members, they didn’t all join at the same time. Some joined after the war, but the invitation is always open to the Leonids. The representatives at the time and even now never felt right about rescinding an invitation after the sacrifices we all made to stop the Vortani."

  She tapped the display again, and the lights flickered softly. "Over time, everyone except the Leonids realized the benefits of a united galaxy and the rapid advancements in technology, gem studies, trade, diplomacy, and of course peace, so they eventually chose to join." She shrugged.

  Clover clapped her hands together. "Alright, let’s move on, shall we? Let’s talk about gems."

  Clover stepped forward, and the display beside her shifted to reveal an intricate diagram of glowing symbols.

  "Gems are the physical manifestation of life, elemental forces, and the very fabric of the universe, we call these affinities." She gestured toward the display, where images of different gems floated in midair. "When something dies, its life force, what many believe to be the soul, condenses into a small stone-like object known as a gem."

  The display zoomed in showcasing five distinct gems. Each of them glowed in various colors, and were engraved with intricate markings. The last one was a polished white stone with no markings.

  “These four gems you see here are as follows: Red - Reaction, Yellow - Connection, Green - Life, Black - Void.”

  "These are the affinities we’ve discovered so far." Clover continued. Now pointing to the white gem, "This one here represents sentient beings who have not attuned to one of the four affinities." Her hand moved to the second to last gem on the list, a deep black stone with a swirling engraving at its center. "And this one represents Void, we’ll come back to that."

  She stepped back as the display changed to show a flickering campfire. A figure, just out of frame, reached into the fire with a pair of tongs and pulled out a glowing coal. As the ember dimmed and its flame fully extinguished, a gem materialized in its place.

  Clover smiled. "This is what we call a catalytic event. Gems form naturally at the end of an affinity’s life force. Other examples include a wave crashing onto shore, livestock being slaughtered, or even a tree falling after standing for centuries. The moment an elemental or biological force ceases to be, a gem is created."

  The display shifted again, now showing a pair of alien hands working carefully with a carved wooden staff. The figure’s fingertips began to glow, much like Peggy’s had when she repaired the broken bottle during their tour. The staff shimmered for a brief moment before the display zoomed out.

  The figure gave the staff to another and with a sudden motion, the figure raised the staff and pointed it skyward. A massive pillar of fire erupted from its tip, roaring to life in a controlled but powerful stream.

  Clover turned back to Nate and Yoli, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. "Gems offer us seemingly endless possibilities. We’ve only just begun to scratch the surface of their integration into everyday life..”

  Clover stepped forward as the display next to her shifted, revealing an image of a human holding a glowing red gem to their chest.

  "We call this process attunement. It’s as simple as placing the gem against your chest and waiting for your inner gem to accept the change."

  On the display, the gem in the figure’s hand began to shimmer. A second later, it melted into their skin, vanishing beneath the surface. Their chest pulsed with a soft glow before settling, as if something deep inside had shifted.

  Clover gestured toward the image. "What comes next… is up to the Attuner." She turned back to the siblings. "When you attune to an affinity, you gain a sliver of that force’s power. This manifests as abilities or expressions of that affinity emanating from your body. But here’s where it gets interesting."

  She clasped her hands behind her back as the display changed to show two different figures, both attuning to the same type of gem.

  "If you attune to an affinity naturally, the result is completely random. Two people can absorb the exact same gem and receive entirely different manifestations of that power. One Reaction Attuner might be able to conjure flames from their hands, while another might generate gusts of wind with their body."

  She folded her arms, nodding to herself. "Attunement has made life easier in a lot of ways. These days, most of the population chooses the Connection affinity; it's the most versatile for everyday tasks. But that’s not to say people don’t pick other affinities. Even if only 1% of the galactic population attuned to something else, that still represents billions of people."

  Nate, completely enthralled, leaned forward. "Do we know every ability or manifestation for each affinity?"

  Clover’s grin widened, her excitement mirroring his. "No." she said, eyes gleaming. "And that’s the best part."

  The display shifted again, showing a holographic codex filled with thousands of entries.

  "There may even be affinities out there we haven’t discovered yet. Every time the Intelligence Consortium documents a new manifestation, we update the Codex so everyone has access." She paused, letting that sink in before adding, "There’s a lot more to gems, attunement, and affinities but we don’t have time to go over all the basic complexities, let alone the advanced ones." She smiled knowingly. "So, I’ll leave you with this: If you choose to attune, remember you can only choose one affinity one time. No take backs. The same goes for manifestations. So…" Her voice dropped slightly, turning serious. "Choose wisely."

  Nate leaned back in his chair, his mind racing. His thoughts felt like they were running in circles, struggling to process everything that had been dumped on him in just a few hours. Clover was still talking in the background, the display now shifting from gems to spaceships, something he thought would be easier to comprehend. Spaceships. Real ones. That’s fine. We went to the Moon, we had the space shuttle. It’s just… we don’t have flying station wagons yet. But no matter how much he tried to grasp onto the familiar, his mind kept drifting back to what Clover had said.

  Attunement. Affinities. Magic. What am I even doing here?

  This was beyond anything he could have imagined. He had dreamed of things like this, fantasized about magic, about abilities beyond human limits. But now… now it was real. I could literally shoot fireballs from my hands. There were still practical concerns though. The lame part of living in the real world. Whatever I do, I’ll need a job. A place to live. Did he even have any skills that mattered in a place like this? No Earth, he had been a medical billing clerk. Would the galaxy really have a place for someone who could squirt water from his mouth like a Pokémon?

  His gut twisted.

  He could just… go back. Back to what was familiar. Back to his parents. Back to Charlie. Back to a world where the most exciting thing about his week was arguing with insurance companies over claim denials. Yoli would probably go back, too. Eventually. But not before she got her hands on some magical healing abilities. She’s gonna be Earth’s first magical healer.

  But Nate? No. He wanted this. Not just to dabble in it, not just to experience it. This was his new life, he wanted to have superpowers. He wanted to change. This time he was taking the leap.