Somewhere on a space station is Aster.

  He is 8 now.

  His life has been a blur since he was but a baby.

  His life dull to him.

  But his dreams.

  They were horrifying, and yet…

  He was many in them.

  He found comfort in those who were him.

  He would explore the vast city in his dreams, hopping from person to person.

  Yet there was always one he couldn’t reach.

  One he knew of, vague knowledge of their existence fed his drive in his dreams.

  But there were others in his dreams.

  A few people, stranded in his dreamed city.

  One of them resembled his cousin, but he knew how dreams pulled on what you knew.

  He would watch them in silence, unable to will his voice to work.

  They wanted to escape, to leave.

  He learned this, and while he was torn between helping them and not, he knew the better action was to be nice. If not, it would be like not helping his family.

  It was a dream, but Aster strived to be good in his dreams, strived to learn and work in them.

  In his dreams he wasn’t a powerless kid, but someone in command of a city.

  So in his dreams he walked to escort them out of the city.

  As the member of the collective walked with the group, Stacy Janessa and Herbert each thought of different things.

  Stacy was thinking on what he might do if he actually gets out of this god forsaken city. He pnned to quit and stay with his family, perhaps with his aunt and uncle?

  Janessa was thinking about the interesting properties of the city. She particurly thought about the metals and how they were incredibly pliable, despite being made of materials stronger than the strongest of steel.

  Herbert was thinking of that strange type of coffee that tasted disgusting when he had it with Janessa. He hoped for good food soon.

  Eventually they arrived at the exit.

  But there is a problem, they have no suits.

  At this point, their guide watches them as they walk near the edge of the city.

  They are nervous, they have had contact with the outside world since the beginning, despite their comms losing their batteries. They know how this is supposed to go.

  A group brings in vehicles which they will enter, at which point they will ride out of this pce.

  They are ready as several vehicles pass the boundary, they quickly board.

  Soon, they are safely riding towards their research base.

  At first they were all startled from a sound of metal straining and popping as they left, but they were all told it was due to the vehicle needing to withstand a quick increase and decrease in outside pressure.

  The ride is long and boring, they spend their time just staring back at the city or towards their research base.

  Aster stares as the 3 people ride off into the distance, figuring what to do next.

  He’s never been able to leave this city in his dreams, he’s tried many times, but something overidden him every time.

  He started walking towards the park, when his awareness of the dream-world waned, and he started to wake up.

  “But mom!” whines Aster.

  “You know you need to learn how to tie a tie. Where is that big brain of yours going to get you if you can’t do simple things?” replies Myra while untying his failed attempt.

  Aster just grumbles more, and watches his how to tie a tie video on the tablet.

  After finishing tying his tie, Aster asks his mother, “why do I need to dress like this anyway? It’s stuffy. I don’t need to wear this to just see family!”

  Myra just begins to fix his outfit, ignoring his argument. A pull here, a tug there, a pat somewhere else, and finally she deems him fit for presentation.

  “There!” she excims, “don’t you look much better. You look so cute.”

  Aster just walks away towards his room, picking up his tablet to py games while he waits.

  The game he chose is some type of game where you glide, your goal is maneuver past obstacles as you attempt to figure out some type of mystery. It takes pce in an endless expanse of a city on a rge scale futuristic space-station.

  He spends the next few minutes just pying on the tablet, watching as the ndscape becomes more and more alive.

  Eventually his mom brings him from his room, begrudgingly allowing him to bring his tablet with him.

  It’s time for him to show his project to his cousin.

  Threelivestoken