The Expansionist Faction
Several decades after humanity established its colony on Edena, after the death of President Althar Revas and the rise of Caelen Voss to power, the new world entered an era of unprecedented development. Yet progress always came with a question: how far should we go?
In the Grand Assembly of the First Light Council, now dominated by Voss loyalists, two major voices clashed. On one side: the Expansionist Faction, architects, engineers, and economists who believed Edena must be fully utilized for humanity's glory. On the other: the Conservationist Faction, ecologists, historians, and ethicists who believed Edena was a legacy to be protected, not exploited.
But as had become the pattern under Voss's administration, the loudest voice wasn't the voice of conscience, it was the voice of power.
President Voss officially endorsed the Expansionist Faction's grand proposal, calling it the Civilization Reconstruction Program. In a broadcast speech to all of Edena, he declared:
"Edena is not just a place to live. Edena is a source of strength. We cannot build the future with our hands tied by ancient fears. We must dig, build, and expand. For the survival of humankind, we must become the masters of this world."
Several massive projects were launched:
Megastrata Coreline – A colossal tunnel system cutting through Edena's mountains to extract rare minerals found only deep within the planet.
Skyforge Array – An orbital manufacturing complex designed to fabricate large-scale construction modules that could drop directly onto the surface and assemble cities within days.
Flux Arboris – A genetically modified synthetic forest program, not for ecology, but for absorbing rare elements from the soil and converting them into industrial biomass.
Auracore Spire – A 4-kilometer-tall wireless energy tower capable of distributing power across Edena via atmospheric resonance.
Expansionist Headquarters – Southern Velmorah District
Inside a glass chamber suspended above Lake Termira, the Expansionist Faction leaders gathered in a conference room bathed in light panels. Chief architect Draven Kallis stood before a projector.
"With Megastrata Coreline running at full capacity in the next three months," he stated, "we'll boost Edenium material production by 400%. This allows for two new vertical cities and expansion of intercontinental mag-rails."
Edena parliament member Celyn Marell raised an eyebrow. "And what about the impact on the tectonic stability beneath the Orarion valley?"
Draven answered swiftly, "Minimal and calculated. We've implemented gravitational compensations via the Auracore network. We prioritize progress, not stagnation."
President Voss's economic advisor, Jarek Sorne, added, "We're talking about opportunity. Edena's technology heavily depends on Edenium. If we don't take it, we lose our edge over the very world we're building."
Public Reaction and Filtered Media
Public media on Edena had long been under the watch of the Central Information Office's filtering algorithms. So the public's reaction wasn't protest, it was directed enthusiasm. Promo reels played endlessly on public screens:
"Megastrata opens your future!" "Skyforge: From the sky, for progress!" "Unlimited energy. Unstoppable potential."
Any voices expressing concern over ecosystem damage received this response:
"Should we sacrifice the future for a single tree?"
In the control room of Skyforge Array, senior technicians Maren Yevra and Kairn Doval watched modules launch from orbit to the surface.
"Have you ever thought we've gone too far?" Maren asked, staring at the blue flicker of propulsion engines.
Kairn sighed. "I just know we have to keep moving. Stop for a second, and you're out. Or worse."
Maren looked at the map projection of Edena now dotted with project nodes and energy lines. "We came here to coexist. Now it feels like we're... rewriting the planet."
Kairn turned, voice lower. "If you're going to protest, don't do it here. The machines have ears. And Voss's people... they always listen."
President Voss didn't just approve the projects, he granted them supreme legitimacy. Through Edena Decree Assembly-09, he gave the Expansionist Faction full authority over construction zones without needing local council approval.
In a meeting with regional governors, Voss said:
"If anyone asks who owns Edena, the answer is simple: we do. Not nature, not history. We who breathe here, we who hold the reins. And I'll ensure that grip remains firm."
Some governors hesitated, but none objected. They knew, in this new world, one word 'no' could mean erasure.
The Expansionists rewrote Edena's narrative in official history books: that humanity did not come to find a new home, but to build a stronger world. That Earth's downfall wasn't greed, it was lack of control. And that Edena was a gift for those bold enough to claim it.
In his private chamber at the Auracore Spire command center, Draven Kallis stood before the main energy control panel. Blue light pulsed from floor to sky.
"We are gods," he whispered to himself. "Earth taught us lessons. But Edena... Edena is our stage."
And quietly, the promised world began to change, not from disaster, but by design. Gleaming, grand, yet beginning to lose its natural pulse.
The great steps had begun. But the land, the sky, and the forests of Edena had not yet spoken. They waited. And when nature finally speak, will humanity truly listen?
Years into the Civilization Reconstruction Program, Edena's landscape had visibly transformed. Forests once radiant with peaceful luminescence were now veiled in silvery haze from industrial waste. Rivers once clear now carried micro-metal particles from the ruins of Megastrata mining. The air felt heavier, and the sky no longer held its former hue.
But the most shocking change wasn't visual, it was behavioral. The native creatures of Edena began acting differently.
The first report came from a mapping team in the western Liron Mountains. A Sorelath, a deer-like creature with glowing antlers, charged a technical team's vehicle column near an energy relay. Normally peaceful and reclusive, it triggered a small explosion.
"We didn't provoke it," reported lead technician Lyra Seron. "They seem... disturbed. Like they sense something's wrong."
Days later, a flock of Irsin, transparent sky-creatures, began circling Flux Arboris production sites. Their sounds became louder, more erratic.
At the Edena Bioethics Center, scientists and environmental monitors gathered. Leading them was renowned ecologist and Conservationist voice, Dr. Thalen Mir.
"This isn't random aggression," said Dr. Thalen during an internal meeting. "This is a biological response. Edena's ecosystems are experiencing deep imbalance. They're not attacking out of hate... they're defending their right to live."
He presented data: declining soil fertility near Megastrata, altered migration patterns, and abnormal electromagnetic readings from Auracore towers.
"We're generating noises we cannot hear, but the native species can feel. They feel under siege."
Emergency Government Assembly
President Voss convened an emergency session with all sector heads and the main council in the Hall of Light, a vast chamber floating above Altheron City. Holograms filled the space: charts, field reports, images of aggressive wildlife.
Dr. Thalen stood at the center.
"We're not asking for total shutdown. We ask only for a pause, to study the deeper effects."
Jarek Sorne replied calmly, "We don't deny ecology's importance, Dr. Mir. But you and your team know well that much of your conservation labs are built from Coreline materials and powered by Auracore."
"True," Thalen admitted. "But that's no reason to keep mining endlessly. We can slow down. We can balance."
President Voss leaned forward, his voice cold and measured. "Growth does not pause. If we halt now, we jeopardize other vital projects. Even your eco-tech won't run without what we've built."
The head of communications added, "The people aren't complaining. They're satisfied. And as long as their basic needs are met, unrest is unlikely."
Dr. Thalen looked around. Many faces once friendly were now silent, heads bowed.
Though politically outmatched, the Conservationists did not retreat. Underground, a network of young scientists, independent technicians, and displaced citizens began forming small clusters, unarmed, unthreatening, but observant.
They called themselves Vox Terra, Voice of the Earth.
One of their notes read: "We are not against civilization. We reject destruction wrapped in the name of progress."
In the 86th month after the New Edena Reformation, a small incident occurred at an eastern Megastrata drilling site. Three heavy-class excavation drones exploded simultaneously. Initially blamed on technical failure.
But internal investigations found manual overrides, done via physical access, not remote hacks. Someone had been there.
No one confessed. But on one burned unit's wall, written in red phosphor:
"If you're deaf to nature's voice, then let nature speak with fire."
The media said nothing. The government covered it. But among technicians, the news spread. In the data black markets, it became a spark.
That night, President Voss held a closed-door meeting. "This isn't sabotage. This is a test of power," he said. "And we will respond not with compromise, but with strength."
And so, while the shining cities still sang of progress, and the people slept in manufactured comfort, beneath it, the earth began to tremble.
Edena, once a promise of hope, now braced for a new chapter, where the silenced would no longer wait. They moved in silence, with the belief that the time to listen had passed.
And rebellion... had just whispered its first breath.