FireBlast is getting ill, children burning Place (non-sense words from a heavy metal song).

Once, Betelgeuse VII was a paradise for rare sexual minorities and transgender people. But now, things are changed. The sun will soon go supernova. The economy collapsed. Things like electricity, automated trains, distribution services, money or internet, are long gone. There is no institution left, the planet is ruled by anarchy.

Still, a new planet was terraformed by the last dictators: Betelgeuse S, located at ten light years away. The planet is terraformed and its inhabitants are doing a lot of effort to rescue the last survivals from Betelgeuse VII. But do they want to leave? Some do, some don't. Many are afraid that they will not be saved, they will end-up as slaves in UV Ceti, the most infamous solar system in the galaxy. Many pirates tried to take people away from Betelgeuse VII, with false promises that they will be send to other planets... but in fact nearly anyone who left ended-up as slaves. But still, when Betelgeuse S became habitable, many accepted to leave. Many people still don't trust the rescue ships.

At first, rescue ships were visiting each town every 150 days, to pick-up survivals. At that time, there were so many people willing to get out, that many times they fought to get inside the ships. Now, the towns look abandoned. Less and less people go. So, the rescue ships start to patrol. They visit each town at every 10 days, they fly above the land looking for survivals and asking anyone to leave. Nobody forces anyone to go... but Betelgeuse will soon go supernova.

There is a major problem. The empire of the Pleiades found a way to get rid of the heads of their terrorist and mafia leaders. Because these people continue to rule their organizations also from prison and because death sentence is not too popular there, they decided to send them to Betelgeuse VII. All those sent here are first sent to Betelgeuse S, to transform their bodies. First, they are turned into women, using DNA transformation techniques, then they are sent to radical surgery. Female organs are added as implants. Well, it is a death sentence after all, since the sun will soon go supernova.

Betelgeuse VII is ruled by chaos. Bandits, thieves and terrorists roam the planet, looking for food and anything that can be valuable. In such situations, people gather together, looking for someone to protect them. And who could be more experienced then a former mafia leader sent from the Pleiades? It is no surprise that they rule over small communities at their own will. Even if they are now women, they prefer to be called padrino, which means godfather. Each community is ruled by a padrino.

Well, when the first rescue ships came, most people were still sitting in their towns. They chosen to leave. Also, many padrinos wanted to leave, knowing that Betelgeuse will soon explode. But others refused. They prefer to stay here, even knowing that their lives will be short. Rescue ships take away many of their subjects, so they started whatever is possible to stop people from getting away. Some started to tell people that it is all a lie and Betelgeuse will never explode, that the whole thing is a hoax made to convince people to leave and become slaves in UV Ceti. Others used more drastic methods, like torture for those who want to leave.

**********

In a former town, there were three sisters: Angela, Mariella and Beta. The term 'sister' is a bit inappropriate, since they were more different. Angela (former Angel) is a guy in all aspects, but likes cross-dressing and never went dressed as a man for years. Mariella is a woman in all aspects. Beta is a hermaphrodite, having both genital organs, breasts and a mustache. The other two convinced Beta to dress like a woman. Their parents, which were hermaphrodites, died in a fight between two armed groups which wanted to take over their town. The sisters then moved away and never returned.

They found a little settlement, owned by a padrino named FireBlast. Even if it is a woman (a trans woman more exactly), FireBlast has the soul of a man. It convinced a few hundred people to come here and form a colony. People live here like in the middle ages. They have a central fortress, where they sleep, surrounded by a wall of stones, reinforced with tree logs. The wall is surrounded by a ditch filled with water. Outside, there are fields where they harvest all they need, from grains and vegetables to tobacco. They also grow animals.

FireBlast calls its fortress Place and all inhabitants its children. A few times, Place was attacked by bandits, but each time FireBlast managed to stop them. Its children have weapons: pikes, bows and arrows. They work the land using wooden tools. But, on the other side, it likes to be worshipped. FireBlast created a cult of personality and punished anyone who wanted to talk or stop it in any way.

**********

One day, the sisters are working in the fields. At some point, they get tired and stop. Each one lights a cigarette.

"You noticed that?" says Mariella. "Flowers are blushing no more".

"But they should", says Angela, blowing a cloud of smoke. "It is their season".

"Even the birds are singing weird", adds Mariella, taking its cigarette to the mouth.

"There is something more", says Beta, keeping its cigarette in the mouth. "I noticed the fish are hiding. They are nowhere to be seen in shallow water".

"And the bears are hiding", says Angela, resting with its hand with the cigarette on its knee. They used to come to steal vegetables from us".

"The sun will soon explode", says Mariella in the end. "And nature feels it".

They rest until they finish their cigarettes, then start to work again. Then, they notice something approaching. It is a bright flying object that comes to them and lands in the fields. It is a spaceship, a rescue one. The pilot stops the ship, opens the door and turns on a big speaker:

"I am the captain of the rescue ship. Please climb aboard! We are picking survivals to Betelgeuse S. I will take you to safety before the sun will explode".

"I am going in", says Angela.

"Wait!" says Mariella. "What if this is a trap?"

"We should ask FireBlast before", says Beta.

"I am going in", says Angela again. "You should go to Place and ask FireBlast. I will convince them to come there".

"Then, we go with you", says Mariella.

They all enter the ship and ask the captain to go to Place. Then, the ship lands there. Mariella remains inside, while the other sisters step outside. Everyone in Place comes to see the ship. FireBlast itself comes and sits in front of the ship.

"You! Identify yourself!" shouts FireBlast.

The pilot steps outside the ship and says:

"I am Davida, the pilot of this rescue ship".

"Where do you come from?" asks FireBlast, lighting a cigarette.

"From Betelgeuse S", answers the pilot. "I came to pick survivals, before the sun goes supernova".

"How can I know that you are not a pirate looking for slaves?"

"I have aboard many people from various places, including two rescued volunteers that came to help people".

"I don't believe you", answers FireBlast. "Many pirates do that. How should I know if you are telling the truth?"

"I am. And if you and your people don't come with me, you will all die".

"Oh yeah? Does the sun look different now then it looked yesterday? I don't think so. Stop telling me this hoax".

"In exactly 11 days from now, Betelgeuse will start fusing magnesium in its core. And in 24 days, you will see a massive flare on the sky. That should be a good warning".

"I don't believe you, false Messiah!"

"I will drop here an online information panel. A ship will come every ten days. Maybe you will change your mind. It has a neutrino detector. Maybe this will show you the truth".

"I need no tricks to see the truth".

The pilot comes with something from the ship, a large screen that it places on the ground.

"Everyone who wants to go to Betelgeuse S, please come aboard!"

FireBlast screams and orders people to stop, but still, about twenty decide to go. As they enter the ship, the doors close and the ship starts flying.

**********

Angela decided to go, while its sisters remained in Place. The ship flies with great speed, searching for survivals. It makes a few more stops, then flies away to orbit. In total, 58 people from various places decided to go. The ship arrives at a passenger transporter, which is waiting on orbit.

Still, Angela has no way to see outside. It reaches the transporter, where people are sent to a freezing tank. There, with the help of induced electric currents, each passenger is turned to sleep, then frozen in liquid helium for the ride. The transporter takes survivals to the orbital station surrounding Betelgeuse S. There, a huge number of people arrive. Angela is shocked to see so many, more then it ever seen in its lifetime.

In small groups, people are sent from the orbital station towards the surface base. There, they are sent, one by one, to a series of identical doors.

Angela reaches a door. As it enters in a small room, with no windows and illuminated, it can see a small drone.

"Medical check", says the drone. "Please remain still".

The drone scans its body, then goes. Another door opens forward. There, Angela is invited to take off its clothes and take a shower. The clothes are also washed and dried within a minute. After this, another door opens and Angela goes into a third room. There, another drone comes and says:

"Do you have a name?"

"Yes. Angela... well, in fact Angel".

"How do you want people to call you?"

"Angela, if that is ok".

"Angela, I want to ask you some questions, so that other survivals could find you. If you don't want, you can refuse to answer. Do you want others to find you?"

"Yes".

"What town do you come from?"

"I was born in Black Wolf, but I lived in Place".

Then, the drone asks other questions. Also, it tries to find out what Angela works, what is it capable of, what type of climate is Angela used to live in and what kind of people does it like around. These things are important to identify the best town to go. Finally, the drone asks:

"Do you want to locate another survival and go to its place?"

"No, thanks".

Then, Angela enters another room. There, a robot serves it with a fresh meal. And then, it goes to another room. There, it receives a bag with a few things: clothes, a pack of cigarettes, a bottle of water and other small things.

After all this, Angela reaches another small room. There, it gets a sheet of paper, describing the way to go to its selected new address. In the next room, a robot scans its body for the bioenergy signature, takes a sample to read the DNA and completes its new identity card. This card contains only a few details. No name or gender is written, only a code number and the address, which is also in numbers.

After all this, Angela opens the last door and reaches open space. Now, it can see the sky and the new world that was built for everyone. Angela didn't arrive in UV Ceti, as FireBlast told everyone, but on Betelgeuse S. The sun is orange-red and has a similar size as seen from the ground, only that it does not have those extremely bright or dark spots. It is a red dwarf, the dimmest, most common and most long lived of all stars in the galaxy. The sky looks somehow familiar, with a color between blue and violet. The clouds also share the same pink color, just like on Betelgeuse VII. However, this tiny star is not surrounded by haze or a ring of ejected matter.

The Earth orbits the Sun at a distance of 1 AU. Betelgeuse VII is located at 160 AU to its sun, while Betelgeuse S, only at 0.05 AU. The planet orbits its sun in about 10 Earth days. However, its rotation period is nearly equal to the revolution period. A day will last over a hundred Earth years, longer then a human lifetime.

There, just outside the base, Angela reaches a large concrete square. In the middle, there is a small train station, with trains departing to the main, former town. The area looks nearly like a desert. Well, Angela looks at its instruction paper. It must take the train from here to the main station, which connects the capital town. From there, it will have to change a few trains to reach its home town. Towns have no name, just identity numbers. In future, settlers will decide what name will each town wear. But, for now, Angela looks at the instruction paper: "Take the train that arrives to the central square. It will take you to the main station. From there, go to platform 5 and take the train going to town 5468. The destination should be written on the train's nose. Go 21 stations, until you reach town 217. There, get down and move to line 1, to take a train to station 957"... and so on. On each line, an automated train will come at every 3 hours, after a well established schedule.

Angela gets into the first train, towards the main station. The landscape is of a large plain, with hills at the horizon. There is something big, even huge, that can be seen clearly along the route. There are five giant statues, made of iron, placed on a platform. Angela looks at them, not knowing what they are. Each statue is about 400 meters high, while the platform holding them is 150 meters high. That is really huge, something it has never seen.

The first statue represents a man with a crown on one hand. Angela recognizes that crown, which was worn by the whole Caligula dynasty, which ruled Betelgeuse VII until anarchy came. It is Caligula I, the founder. Its name is written below, on the platform.

The second statue is that of a hermaphrodite, with both female breasts and male beard and mustache, with a long hair and with a telescope in one hand. It is Caligula XII, the dictator that firstly used a neutrino telescope to see that Betelgeuse will explode soon.

The third statue is of Caligula XIII, also a hermaphrodite, with its long coat, exposing only the toes. The dictator holds two globes, one in each hand. One is the planet Betelgeuse VII and the other is Betelgeuse S. It is more robust then Caligula XII, but with the same height.

The fourth statue is of Etna, a transgender woman that came from the Pleiades and dedicated its life to terraform Betelgeuse S. Etna holds a sheet of paper, where the Pleiades are drawn. Etna appears with a knee-long skirt and shoes with high heels.

The fifth statue is smaller and represents a child, with wings like those of a butterfly. It is Angela Northern, the child of Delta, the current ruling dictator and brother of Caligula XIII. It is like an angel, but with butterfly wings.

But, what scares everyone in the train, is what is written on the platform holding the statues: "The ones you killed are the ones who saved you". Isn't it just what happened? Angela looks scared and a tear flows from one eye. Isn't this what people on Betelgeuse VII just did? They killed both Caligula XII and XIII, for money laundry. But in fact, it is this money that made possible terraforming a new planet. People killed them both... but they are heroes. They are the only ones who did something, to save everyone from death. Etna was also killed on Betelgeuse VII. Etna dedicated its life to this cause: to offer people from Betelgeuse VII a new home. And its reward? Death.

But the little Angela Northern? It was sold as a slave to UV Ceti. Dead end. There is no way to know what happened to it. Nobody had, at that time, any idea that that little child is actually Angela Northern, who leads hordes of pirates from UV Ceti to conquer the whole galaxy. People will find out the truth much later, when the star Betelgeuse will no longer exist.

And Caligula I, the founder? Was it killed too? thinks Angela. Could be.

"The ones you killed are the ones who saved you", whispers Angela for itself, feeling guilty for all this.

All this time, most people on Betelgeuse VII considered that Caligula XII and Caligula XIII did what they did to save their children, their friends and other important state employees. They considered both dictators traitors and not saviors, national heroes, as they should be considered.

But, the train arrives to its destination, the capital town. Once, that town was covered with a massive dome. Now, the dome is gone, as the air is breathable. But there is no time to explore. Angela looks around, to find the train platform needed and to go to its new home.

Then, after taking many trains, changing routes and one time getting lost, very tired, Angela arrives to its final destination. There is even a map of the town, showing the location of its new house. It is a single room metal building, just like the homes people received on Betelgeuse VII in the old days. It is all so similar!

**********

The other sisters refused to go. Both Mariella and Beta decided to remain. FireBlast is very angry and decided to stop anyone who wants to get inside a rescue ship. However, these ships keep coming at every ten days, asking everyone to leave.

Deep inside Betelgeuse, things are not looking well. The star has long exhausted its classic fuels: hydrogen, helium, carbon, neon and oxygen. Now, its core is heated to two billion degrees K, which is 130 times hotter then the core of Earth's Sun. There, matter density is thousands of times higher then in the core of the Sun. Betelgeuse tries anything to produce more energy, to sustain itself. As pressure continues to rise, magnesium starts to fuse. This process stops core contraction and even makes it expand, squeezing and heating outer layers, which are fusing oxygen and neon. There, fusion occurs in an eruptive way, very violent, creating a powerful wave that propagates through the next layers, which are fusing carbon. The shock wave does not have enough power to break through the next layers, which are fusing helium and hydrogen, all the way to the surface, because Betelgeuse is rotating very fast. The Coriolis effect prevents this... except for the poles.

The shock wave can reach surface at the poles, more exactly at the South pole. There, a massive flare erupts, blowing matter through space. It is so bright, that shines at least ten times brighter then Betelgeuse itself... but it does not last long. The big jet of plasma ejected becomes clearly visible. It is like a monster, growing in size but losing luminosity.

FireBlast keeps telling everyone that the sun will not explode and all is a hoax. In the day when the flare gets formed, FireBlast is sitting high on the roof of the central building in Place, screaming to everyone:

"Will the sun explode?"

"No", answers everyone.

"Are those our saviors?"

"No!"

"What happened to those who left?"

"They are slaves!"

"Do you want to be slaves?"

"No!"

"Well", says FireBlast, "I look at the sun and I see it just as it were when I came here. It will never change. It will remain as we see it now, forever. Do you see any difference?"

Just as FireBlast says these words, the powerful flare becomes visible. A bright and hot light force everyone to close the eyes... but FireBlast is looking directly to it. The flare shines very bright and also blows a deadly stream of X and UV radiation. People feel their skin is burning and try to hide anywhere they can. FireBlast falls from the roof and is token by others inside a building. It is blind and all its skin is burned. It feels very dizzy, starts vomiting and feels a lot of pain.

Outside, the sun scourges the planet. The air becomes hot, almost no longer breathable. Plants start to get dried. Then, powerful storms come, as the flare starts to lost its power. The 'children' gather around FireBlast, their leader, to say:

"You lied to us!"

"The sun will explode. All of us know this".

"You are the false prophet, not the pilots".

"Do not go to them, they will take you into slavery", says FireBlast.

FireBlast is getting more and more sick. Then, at one moment, one of its 'children' takes a torch and says:

"We have to get out of here, with the next rescue ship. The Place was nothing more then a prison for all of us. Let's burn it!"

And this is exactly what happens. The 'children' start burning Place, while FireBlast feels more and more sick. Many 'children' remain close to the online panel, waiting for the next ship to save them. Others, run away.

Mariella decides to run. Not knowing who to trust, it has no idea if rescue ships are employed by the pirates or they really are from Betelgeuse S. So, Mariella runs into the forest, traveling a few days between ruins and fallen tree branches. Everything is ruined all around.

But, after traveling a few days, Mariella finds something. In the good days, it was a deep platinum mine. There are gates surrounding some buildings on the top. Trying to get inside, to find some food and something to smoke, Mariella activates an alarm. Someone comes and shouts:

"Drop your weapons if you want to come here!"

"I have no weapons, just a pike", it says, dropping it.

That person takes Mariella to a deep mine well, with an elevator. Down, about 2 km deep. There, beneath the surface, was a mine in the old times. There is light, there is electricity, water to drink, plants grow in a cavern illuminated and there is food.

The former mining corporation decided to use its facilities to create a closed ecosystem, able to support an underground colony. At this depth, they hope to survive the supernova. 1200 people chosen to come down here, to live. They have a nuclear generator and also access to geothermal energy. They have the technology to dig new caverns and are self-sustainable.

**********

Beta, the last sister, decides to wait. The first rescue ship takes it and other survivals to Betelgeuse S. Beta tries its best to find Angela and manages to do so. Angela asks:

"What is going on home?"

"FireBlast is getting ill, children burning Place", answers Beta.

The two are safe. However, with such a big number of immigrants, Betelgeuse S is facing problems. Food rations are the only thing that keep people alive, until they harvest their own crops. People have to start it all from zero. They have allocated land for farming, they received seeds and a few animals, but time is needed until they will be able to harvest their own food.

The whole resettlement program is controlled by Anathem, a former slave who dedicated its life to terraform the new planet. Anathem does anything it can to advice people to work the land, to build working shops and to take part in various sectors of the economy. It is a very hard job, that needs to be done.

**********

Unfortunately, there is not much time. The resettlement program will last for an earth year after the last settler has arrived, but there is not much time left to save the last survivals. Betelgeuse fused all its magnesium very fast. It took four days for magnesium fusion to equal the energy loss caused by neutrino radiation. Then, for 14 days, magnesium fusion heated the core and made it expand. for additional five days, magnesium fusion occurred in a shell surrounding the core. After that, the core could no longer get energy from fusion and continued to contract for 19 days, back to the density it had when magnesium fusion equaled the energy loss caused by neutrino radiation. In total, magnesium fusion gave Betelgeuse an extra of 38 days of life.

But now, as temperature continues to grow, more and more neutrinos are produced, taking away the energy of the star at an alarming rate. There are only 33 days left... and in the last two, silicon fusion will occur. Betelgeuse will try for the last time to delay its death. Silicon fusion will produce about 20% the energy produced by carbon fusion, 25% of what produced neon fusion, 5% of what was produced by oxygen fusion or the same amount of energy produced by magnesium fusion. However, when that will happen, less then a billionth of that energy will be used by the core to stop contraction. All the rest, will be lost as neutrino radiation.

When the neutrino telescopes will detect signs of silicon fusion, all rescue ships will be ordered to leave the planet. This is mandatory, to escape the incoming supernova. The shock wave will destroy anything in its way. Every ship must reach a safe distance.

The massive flare was a big warning sign for all those who don't want to leave. Now, each rescue ship picks nearly all survivals found. But still, there are people who don't want to go, who never got in contact with a rescue ship or who decided to survive using other ways.

Will there be enough time to save everybody?