(BM) “Do you know what these runes say?” Baron asked Zi Ji Ge.

(ZJG) “I can’t actually decipher these until I sit down to look at them closer.” Zi Ji Ge said.

(BM) “So you can figure out what they say?”

(ZJG) “Yes, my brother taught me how about a hundred or so years ago. There is a knack to it that I just have to remember, it will take some time.”

(BM) “From your brother, that seems like it is more than just a coincidence.”

(ZJG) “At this point, I have no idea what to think anymore. Let us just head to your HQ before we do anything else.”

(BM) “Agreed.”

Once both of them got to the HQ, they found out that there was no one else there. This did not matter as Zi Ji Ge immediately got to work trying to decipher what these runes her brother left meant. She was still trying to get over why her brother would go and steal the blueprints, but this served as a great distraction. Deciphering would take quite some time so she chose an empty room and shut herself in for a couple of days to give her ample time.

Meanwhile, Baron decided to draw up a few more blueprints so that he could sell it at a later date. There were times where he had went weeks drawing up blueprints in order for them to get some money, but now with the gift from Li Xin, they did not need to worry about money for quite some time. Both of them worked for quite a few days before anything happened. Roxi returned for a few days so that she could see Baron.

Of course, Baron was glad to see Roxi, but he needed to tell her about the ally that was with them trying to figure some stuff out. She understood and after a bit of discussion, both of them decided it was best for Roxi to have a little conversation to see if Zi Ji Ge’s mental state was alright.

(RB) “Hey, Zi Ji Ge, I don’t think we’ve met before. I am Roxi. I suppose you could say I am Baron’s earliest ally.” Roxi Blaze introduced herself to Zi Ji Ge.

(ZJG) “You are, are you? That’s nice.”

(RB) “How are you holding up with the actions of your brother?”

(ZJG) “I’m just a bit confused is all. There is nothing to worry about.”

(RB) “What are you working on?”

(ZJG) “Something that my brother left for me, I’m almost done. Knowing him though, it will probably be something that is super immature. Even if he is quiet and almost never says anything, he can be quite immature when he is alone with friends.”

(RB) “Hey, if you ever need to talk, just know that I will be here for the next couple of days. I’ll leave you to it then.”

(ZJG) “I told you I’m fine. I appreciate the offer though.”

With that, Roxi left the room that Zi Ji Ge was in and she left to go see Baron and talk to him about the experiences that she had with matron Fu Hao. Baron was still working on some blueprints so he signaled for her to talk while he worked.

(RB) “Baron, the past few years that I have been with matron Fu Hao have been so eye-opening. That woman really deserves her title as a senior R&D specialist.”

(BM) “What have you learned from her so far?”

(RB) “Truth be told, we spent the first few months talking to each other about our lives, our discoveries, and a lot of things she was interested in developing as well as mine.”

(BM) “Sounds interesting.”

(RB) “Then, we found something out! At night time here, there are stars. Do you know what that means?”

(BM) “What? That they are sure nice to look at?”

(RB) “No. That it was possible for us to look at other planets and see if there was anything significant about them.”

(BM) “I know you are a science fanatic, but when did you develop a thing for space?”

(RB) "I don't blame you for not knowing, but in the latter half of the 21st century, there was another space race, but this time with 20 countries competing."

(BM) “The first space race was between the United States and the USSR. Tensions were high, pride was on the line, the greatest achievement of that bygone era was that. Great strides in space technology were achieved on both sides at an astonishing pace, I'm scared to think of what kind of accomplishments were achieved between 20 space-capable nations."

(RB) "You are correct in saying that there were accomplishments achieved on all sides. However, this time there was no cold war or anything of the sort to backup this craze."

(BM) “Then what caused such a large interest in space?"

(RB) “Interestingly enough, no one really knows which nation started it, but the craze began somewhere in Europe got some steam when Germany and France decided to put an unprecedented amount of resources into this project. Then it spread to the 4 major countries of Southeast Asia: China, India, South Korea, and Japan. Got even more steam in Europe with the United Kingdom, Italy, Russia, and Spain joining in as well. Soon enough, Canada, Mexico, and the USA banded together to get into the action as did a few African nations, and some from South America as well.”

(BM) “This is certainly surprising. Having so many countries compete in the… what do you guys call it, the second space race?”

(RB) “Yea, that is one name for it. However, more people prefer to call it the event that led humanity to Mars, and just before I passed, I had heard that they were planning on creating flying cities on Venus. As crazy as that might sound to you, Baron, since you died in 2020.”

(BM) “That is a mouthful, but some interesting stories must have come from it.”

(RB) “Indeed. Another thing that I did not get to witness was the birth of the ultra intelligence that was supposed to revolutionize humanity for the next thousand years. Over 50 countries spending almost 100 trillion dollars over a span of 20 years. Who knows how that will turn out.”

(BM) “I must say, I had originally thought that with the way things were going when I was still on Earth that we might never reach the stars. And this intelligence is rather peculiar. I must say that such events ”

(RB) “The time of your death I can say I would have shared your beliefs, but it happened. Still, no idea what caused such a monumental change in mankind’s priorities though.”