A man found a thirsty dog near a fountain. Since he had no bucket and no rope, he went into the fountain and took water in his shoe and gave it to the dog to drink. In that moment, he felt very happy and his sins were forgiven (from a Muslim story).
Betelgeuse VII was a paradise for rare sexual minorities and transgender people. But now, since the sun is preparing to go supernova, this planet has become a hell. The economy collapsed. Some time ago, the dictator Caligula XIII sent its brother, Delta, to terraform another planet, Betelgeuse S, located at ten light years away. The dictator secretly diverted money for this project... and lost its life. Then, when Betelgeuse VII became a hell, Delta sent a its child Angela Northern and its best friend Etna with its child Julia, to calm down the spirits. Etna was killed, Julia was lost on the planet and Angela Northern was kidnapped and sold as a slave.
The terraforming of Betelgeuse S was a big secret. For this purpose, Delta had to use slaves, purchased from UV Ceti. Paid workers could tell their families where they work and the world would find out the truth. Well, slaves had a very good life. They felt like in a big family. On the first day of the year 3075, when Betelgeuse S was finally terraformed, they received freedom. As promised, they all received a home on the planet, citizenship, equal rights and land for agriculture.
The only problem is that Delta, after losing its sister, its child and its best friend, by the hands of those living on Betelgeuse VII, is not willing to save them. However, there are two people that convinced it to start the largest rescue operation in space history. Those two are former slaves. Here is their story.
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Abdullah was a boy, born in a faithful Muslim family, on a planet in the system 61 Cygni. He was kidnapped at the age of 13 by a group of pirates from UV Ceti. There, he was purchased by Murder, a pirate. He was kept in a cage and left to starve. Then, he was castrated. It was a very painful operation, done with no anesthetic. He had both testicles and his penis removed. Then, Murder sold him to Death, another pirate who was making drugs. Death was not satisfied, because Abdullah was not working fast enough, so he sold him to another pirate, Killer, who had a weapon factory. Also, Killer was not satisfied. He tortured Abdullah over and over, to make him work better, then sold him to another pirate, Rage, who sold him to Delta.
At that time, Abdullah no longer had a name. Slaves are not allowed to have names, but numbers. He had a number tattooed on his forehead and his right arm: 415002, together with the name of each owner he had.
When he arrived to Betelgeuse S, he was 20 Earth years old. His appearance was more like a woman. This is something common to castrated people. If castration occurs at a young age, the appearance will be that of a woman. however, if castration is done after puberty, the result will clearly be a man. However, if castration is done in puberty, some male features will be visible. He has small female breasts and a voice that looks more like that of a woman then that of a man, but his DNA is that of a man.
Both on Betelgeuse VII and Betelgeuse S, cross-dressing is common. Also, body transformations are done on a large scale. The standard lines of males and females no longer apply. There is a huge number of hermaphrodite people, who became like this because they wanted to be like this. The classic words he and she no longer apply. Because it is sometimes impossible to use the proper word, people prefer to use the term it. In other places of the galaxy, to talk about a human using it, will not be pleasant, but here, this is how people talk with each other.
Many slaves that came to Betelgeuse S are castrated. They form a distinct population. Many of them, opted to transform their bodies into that of a man, of a woman or a hermaphrodite. Abdullah - 415002, refused this and said:
"I will not be a he or a she. I prefer to be an it. I will remain as I am. Also, my name is not Abdullah nor 415002. Abdullah was a child and 415002 was a teen. I need to find another name".
Castrated slaves, all over the galaxy, form a third gender. They are usually called castrato people. Over a millennium ago, boys were castrated at a young age to preserve their juvenile voices. Such singers were called castrato. They were common singers in the opera.
The other person was born as a woman, in the most inhuman place of the galaxy: the body farms of UV Ceti. There, people are grown in cages. Women are forced to get pregnant and children are grown with a specific education, to be sold as slaves. She was born in the body farm owned by the pirate Curse. Because she showed to have a good genetic potential, Curse saved her for breeding. She never had a name, but a number: 516237. As she passed puberty, she was moved to her cage. The slave who first inseminated her had no experience and injured her uterus. It was a very painful experience. Because she did not get pregnant, she was inseminated again a few times... but she was sterile.
Because she never got pregnant, Curse sold her to another pirate, Blood, who took her and raped her, then threw her in a cage, where she was abused by his men. Then, he used her to clean and cook for his warriors. Because she was not working properly, he sold her to another pirate, Rage, who sold her to Delta.
When she arrived to Betelgeuse S, she was very sick and suffering from malnutrition. She needed urgent medical treatment. More then this, she needed psychiatric treatment, to recover from all her traumas. However, it was impossible for her to recover completely. She had endless nightmares. She was now a sfenist.
Soon, she found herself in a big family. For the first time in her life, she heard words like love, care, respect or value of a human life. She found out that people here don't have numbers, but names. Still, she was not decided what name to have. Also, very soon she found out that people practice cross-dressing on a large scale. On UV Ceti, there were men who had the power. Pirate women were rare. So many times in her life, she wished to be a man. Going to the extreme, to have surgery and transform herself into a man, is not what she likes. But still, cross-dressing is acceptable. Well, she will no longer be a she, but not a he. She likes the idea to be an it.
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415002 - Abdullah is a strong person. Still, it has a great talent in organizing a project. It was promoted to organize working projects. For example, when you need to create a natural barrier in front of a wind current (like a mountain range), it figures out what equipment to use, how to build the needed infrastructure, how to secure the needed energy and where to place the buildings for the workers.
On the other hand, 516237 is very good at organizing people. It knows how to deal with workers, how to group them in shifts, how to solve conflicts between them and how to convince them to work. It finds out how much food, water and oxygen will be needed and what else people will need during a certain project.
Because of this, Delta sent them to supervise the most difficult projects. Delta trusts them both, more then its own people. One day, Delta calls them both and ask them to find a name for themselves. Numbers are only used for slaves in UV Ceti. Many slaves already have chosen names, but they still haven't. Then, 516237 asks Delta:
"How are names chosen?"
"Well, for children, names are given by their parents. And it depends. When I was born, my parents wanted for me a name that will end with A. On Betelgeuse VII, since cross-dressing is very common, many boys are given names ending with an A. They opened the dictionary and chosen the name they liked the most".
"Then, we should do the same", answers 415002.
So, they open an online dictionary and chose the names they like. 415002 - Abdullah choses the name Analemma. Well, Analemma is a diagram showing the positions of the sun or a moon during each day of the year, at the same hour. Searching something related, 516237 finds another word, Anathem, which is in fact the name of a sci-fi novel.
From this moment on, they are Analemma and Anathem.
Also, they adapt to the life of Betelgeuse S. Analemma might have been a boy, but it looks more like a woman. It still has some male features, like a higher body and a face that has something masculine in it, but overall, it looks more like a woman. So, it prefers to dress like a woman. On the other side, Anathem, even if it was born as a woman, prefers to get dressed and behave like a man. Only the female voice betrays this. Anathem has small breasts that can be easily hidden behind clothes.
**********
Delta promised that, once terraforming of Betelgeuse S will be finished, the rescue operation will start. But, before this, it invites its best friends, Analemma and Anathem, to talk about this. It will be the largest relocation operation in history. Such a project will, by far, not be easy to do.
Delta was born as a man, but undergone surgery and DNA transformations to become a hermaphrodite. Now, it is very old. It sits on its throne, wearing the iron crown that was worn by the whole Caligula dynasty. Officially, it is Caligula XVIII. The crown stays on its white hair. The dictator wears a white mantle.
Analemma enters the room, wearing a black dress, with knee-high boots. Its hair is long and painted brown. Anathem wears a black costume with men shoes. Its hair is cut short.
"My friends", says Delta, lighting a cigarette, "I am very old. I lived my life for one purpose: to terraform this planet and to save the people from Betelgeuse VII".
Anathem also lights a cigarette, listening to the dictator.
"However, I don't know what to do", continues Delta. "The people I want to save, they killed my sister. They killed the dictator before it. They killed my best friend and sent my child in slavery. You know very well this. You both come from the hell of UV Ceti and you both know what is there. I wish my child just died, but maybe it suffers just like you did before you arrived here".
Analemma lights a cigarette too, thinking about UV Ceti and slavery.
"I worked all my life to save those who killed my family", continues Delta, blowing a cloud of smoke. "I don't want to save them. If I bring them here, I am afraid they will kill us all".
They both listen to the dictator, understanding the pain in its words.
"What should I do?" asks Delta, looking to them. "This is what everyone waits from me, to save them. We are all brothers and cousins with those on Betelgeuse VII".
"If you don't save them, they will all die", says Analemma, blowing a cloud of smoke in the air.
"I know..." says the dictator. "But, saving them, won't ensure our own doom?"
"I don't think so", says Anathem. "I was born in UV Ceti and I've seen the worst. I think we can handle them. After all, they are not pirates".
"What do you think they are?" asks Delta.
"I've seen pirates turned into slaves", says Anathem. "They tried to fight, but in the end, accepted the only way: submission. You have to be a bit tough. But these are not pirates".
"What is the meaning of your life?" asks Analemma. "Isn't it to save them? Why did Caligula XIII die? Your sister sacrificed its life to save them, well knowing what will happen".
"You are right", says Delta, "but... I often sent spies on Betelgeuse VII. Many of them consider that my sister betrayed them, to save its life and the elite. And they consider their savior to be Caligula XVI, who actually destroyed the economy, giving them social money".
"Yes, because they only see the money and nothing beyond", says Anathem. "But for sure, they see the end is coming. If you save them, they will consider you their real savior and will see what your sister has done to them".
"Will they?" asks Delta.
"Have mercy", says Anathem, blowing a cloud of smoke. "Just as you have when you decided to buy us".
When Delta was forced to work with slaves, it chosen to buy those who were not the best. Pirates often try to hide ill slaves behind the healthy ones. Delta always had mercy. Other slave dealers usually dispatch the weaker slaves, but Delta tried to buy those dispatched.
"Yes, I had mercy, but I used you... as slaves", says Delta. "I used your work to save those people. This planet should be yours".
"If you don't save them", says Anathem, "then all our work is wasted in vain".
"What was the reason why Betelgeuse VII was terraformed?" asks Analemma.
"To be a sanctuary for sexual minorities and transgender people", answers Delta. "This is what the first Caligula wanted to be".
"And Betelgeuse S will be a new paradise, replacing the lost one", continues Analemma. "If you stop here, you betray the founder, Caligula I. It never seen the terraforming complete. It never seen its dream coming true".
"Why did Caligula I terraform Betelgeuse VII?" says Anathem. "To help. Unfortunately, it had not the money to terraform another planet. It looks like Caligula I knew that Betelgeuse will not last long, but had no idea that it will explode so soon. It estimated that the star will last for millennia, which is long enough for someone to terraform a new planet".
"I know, my friends", whispers Delta.
"I will answer you with something my parents said", says Analemma. "The Prophet said that people must help each other. He said that anyone must give something to the poor. And someone asked: 'What if someone has nothing to give to the poor?' The prophet answered: 'Then, that person should work, get some money and give something to the poor'. And someone said: 'But what if someone cannot do that?' The Prophet answered: 'Then, that person should go itself and help others with its own hands, doing something helpful'. And again, someone asked: 'What if one cannot do even that?' And the Prophet answered: 'If someone cannot do even that, then that person should think what is it doing bad to other people. Even that is help'. In Islam, helping others is a very important thing".
They all stay quiet and listen. Then, Analemma continues:
"Allah has no mercy on one who has no mercy on others".
Delta looks down, thinking. Then, it says:
"I don't want to be judged by history as the dictator who left so many people to die. We must save them. Only that I just cannot. I give the mission to you. After all, I am too old to do this job. Analemma, you will take the fleet to Betelgeuse VII and start the rescue program. Save them before it is too late. Anathem, you will take care of the resettlement program. You will guide the refugees to their new homes and make sure they accommodate to this new world".
**********
On the first day of 3075, Betelgeuse S is officially terraformed. Delta purchases a large fleet of passenger ships, to carry the refugees. Analemma goes with the fleet, to start its work. Back home, Anathem prepares itself for the massive relocation program.
When the economy collapsed, Betelgeuse VII had a population of 187 million people. Some people managed to runaway, other died on the planet and other were born. Evacuating 187 million people in 700 days means an average of 27000 people per day. The population lived in 62417 towns. Each town had an online panel in its center. The planet seems to no longer have telecommunications, internet and even electricity. The first thing Analemma does is to replace all online panels with new, battery powered panels. They will inform people about ship schedules. A ship will come to each town from time to time, to pick-up survivals.
What happened to the star?
Betelgeuse is just as shiny as it were in the days of Caligula XIII. Only that now it is surrounded by a ring of gasses, ejected during a massive flare, when the third carbon shell ignited. The real changes are inside the sun.
Even in the days of Caligula I, Betelgeuse stopped fusing carbon in its core. The founder probably thought that helium fusion has stopped and carbon fusion will start. Carbon fusion continued in a shell surrounding the growing inert core. This shell slowly fused, heating the core for a while.
The star ended oxygen fusion in the core in 3075, just the year when rescue operations started. For a short time, oxygen will still be fused in a shell, that will heat the core. But not for long. As the oxygen flame moves outwards, it cannot heat the core any longer. The core is losing energy because of neutrino radiation. In every second, it loses more energy that it was losing 30 minutes during helium fusion. Because of this, the core contracts more and more. This contraction produces more heat, which in reverse increases the neutrino production.
By now, the neutrino radiation is so high, that it starts to affect the equipment.
The second thing Analemma does, is to install a neutrino telescope. It will warn the rescue fleet of incoming dangers.
Oxygen fusion produced heavier elements: silicon, sulfur or phosphorus. The reaction also produces free protons, neutrons and helium nuclei, which fuse with whatever they find in their way. The star still has some lighter elements from previous fusion reactions: sodium and magnesium. But, during oxygen fusion, much of the sodium also have been fused into magnesium, aluminum or silicon. Also, much of the magnesium has been fused into silicon.
Betelgeuse will try to fuse sodium and magnesium for a while. But these elements are not in large amounts, so this process will not last for long. In the end, the core will be a mass of silicon and heavier elements, that will be fused into iron. And when the whole core will be converted into iron, no further fusion reaction will be able to delay the incoming supernova.
Both Analemma and Anathem know there is not much time. They decide to evacuate and resettle 30 thousand people a day.
But will they make it? Will they save the whole population before it's too late?
