Prologue
Let me tell you a little about myself. My name is Barry, and I am a member of the Unusuals. We are non-corporeal beings, meaning that we do not have bodies made of flesh. We are intellectual life forms who reside at the heart of the universe, where we watch and observe life as it propels itself towards sophistication in the different regions of outer space. I am from the future, and quite some time ago, during a turbulent time on the planet Earth, I relocated some of its inhabitants to a group of planets that orbit the star Alpha Centauri. It was during the “Third World War” on that planet, and life was about to come to a devastating end. So, we, the Unusuals, sent an armada of spaceships to guide survivors to the Alpha Centauri sector of space. A few millennia have passed since then, and we find ourselves in the Earth-year 8105, where a young leader by the name of Riley Sinclaire has just been elected Chancellor of one of the main planets I monitor. This planet, the planet Voltaire, will take the technological lead in its system, because computers have re-emerged as invaluable tools, and, well basically, the planets I watch over are a microcosm of the universe at large. Whatever happens, this is a small-scale version of what is in store for all of life in the universe. Riley has some issues that he is working through, and I am here to mostly observe. But if need be, I will act on the Unusuals’ behalf to keep propelling life forward.
