Celeb Sighting at Celestial University
“Welcome back to Celestial U, Lili! Thank you for taking time from your busy tour to visit us this afternoon. I’m Assistant Dean Kami, it’s nice to make your acquaintance.”
“Hey, thanks for having me,” Lili waved her hand, bursts of glitter emanated from her fingertips. “Are you the same Kami from the class of e? Two years behind me?”
“You remembered me? You were always so cool. I had no idea you even noticed me!” Kami squealed with delight.
“Of course, I noticed you. Just because I had a reputation to uphold by not talking to anyone doesn’t mean I was oblivious. You had an affinity for felines, I remember. I really wanted to adopt one of your creations, but my parents were allergic.”
“I still create felines, I’m happy to give one to you,” Kami said. Holding up a palm, Kami blew into it, and a tall spotted leopard shimmered into existence.
“This is Ayaan, and she is yours now, if you like.”
“Eeee!” Lili squealed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Ayaan circled Lili and nuzzled her head against Lili’s elbow. Lili cleared her throat. “Guess we should keep moving. Do we still have time for a tour?”
Kami smiled. “This way,” she beckoned.
“I do apologize that all of the students are away on break right now, I know they would be crushed to have missed seeing such a famous celebrity within our halls.”
“For the best, really,” Lili said with a shrug. “Last time I went to one of my old haunts, it was Andromeda Grocers over by the spiral arm? I was recognized and mobbed by fans. It was awful. My security detail had to call for backup. Speaking of, I hope you don’t mind that I took precautions.”
Kami glanced at the five very burly looking beings behind the celebrity alum. They nodded in unison; eyes covered by reflective visors.
“No, I get it.” Kami said with a smile. “I mean, I don’t get it, I’ll never be famous, but I do understand your need for security.”
“Kami-chan,” Lili said, leveling a gaze at the assistant dean. “You are an artist. Live your dream! Ayaan and the other felines you have created over the eons are prizes. I’ve poured over auction sites, and do you know how much Sibyl, your senior project from Celestial U is selling for? Billions!”
“Thank you for your vote of confidence. I would like to say that my best work is here on this campus, shaping the minds of students who grace our classrooms. But I do love my kitties, and it pleases me that others do too,” Kami said with a winning smile.
“Let us continue our tour then,” Kami beckoned. The entourage set off for a campus tour. Together, they reminisced about their lives during their tenure at Celestial University while walking across the campus.
Kami and Lili exchanged stories about their respective majors. Kami double majored in Library Science and Business Administration, but her passion lie in Zoology, which was her minor. Lili, the rockstar of the universe, started as a Religious Studies major, but scrapped that after a rather nasty breakup with her high school sweetheart, Adam. Lili graduated with a degree in Molecular Biology, but she found her passion in music.
When they reached the Biological Sciences building, Lili asks if we can take a peek inside.
“Of course!” Kami said, “You need to see the New Science wing anyway. The program has evolved significantly since we were students. There are now over 60 different biology programs to major in. Obviously Molec Bio, Micro Bio, Zoology, Botany are still here, but now Celestial U offers courses in Astrobiology, Biochem, Quantum Biology, Nanobiology. There’s even a program called Biological Warfare Studies. Imagine the possibilities if we were students now.”
“Dope!” was all that Lili said. Kami considered for a moment that maybe Lili didn’t care one iota about any of this. Yet when she glanced back at the rockstar, she seemed wide eyed, and enraptured with a thesis that was taped to the door of the Biological Warfare Studies department office. Thumbing through the thesis, Lili seemed to tremble.
“This is remarkable. This thesis states that they studied hundreds of terrariums on display from the university’s early days. It seems that many of the terrariums have waged war for millennia. The thesis suggests that all intelligent life are eventually drawn to use some form of nuc- nuclee,” Lili cleared her throat before continuing, “nuclear weaponry. Thus, inhabitants are prone to annihilating everything, concluding that all life leads to tragic death. Not peaceful death, not co-existence, just a harsh and destructive end to everything.”
Letting go of the thesis, it flapped against the door to the department.
“Kami-chan?” Lili’s eyes were wide with excitement.
Kami snapped to attention. “Yes?”
“Do you think they have our terrariums from when we created our little microcosmos? Because I really REALLY want to see if this thesis is correct.”
“Maybe?” Kami honestly had no idea. She knew that there was a collection of terrariums, but she had no idea how vast the collection was. She was curious too, so after a quick transmission to the head of Biological Sciences, the two students and the five guards made their way to the Biological Sciences Quantum wing.
Lili spoke quickly about how her life would be drastically different had such programs like Biological Warfare Studies been available when they were students. Sure, she found her studies to be fine, but warfare excited her. Especially the idea of biological warfare, the idea of creating monsters, and wreaking havoc on others.
“I mean, you can tell in my songs, right? I focus so hard on atonality and arrhythmic forms and patterns, that discord is kind of my jam.”
“You never did fit into a box, Lili, that is why you were easily the coolest cat in our school.” Kami agreed.
“Thanks, Kami-chan! You’re pretty cool too. Always have been.”
Ayaan gave a roar. The five guards jumped, while Kami extended her palm to the leopard. Lili smiled and stroked Ayaan’s fur.
“See? Even Ayaan agrees,” Lili purred.
“This is the Quantum wing,” was all Kami said. She opened a door with a wave of her hand, and the party stepped through.
Adorning the walls were hundreds of little biodomes. Terrariums of various shapes, sizes, and color lined shelves like bottles. Lights within the biodomes twinkled with an array of color.
“Wow!” Lili said with a fervent sigh. “Mind if I peek?”
Kami nodded. She too, was curious. Some terrariums showed no signs of organic life, while others offered detail on civilizations. With a push of a button, a monitor appeared, detailing at high speed, the history of that given terrarium.
“I found yours!” Lili called from across the room. “Oh this is so adorable! Come look!”
Kami crossed the room quickly to where Lili stood. In front, a glass dome featured an array of planetary shapes orbiting a red star. With a push of the corresponding button, the monitor flashed on.
“Student Name: Kami Ainu. Class: e Project 204. This system features twelve planets, one red giant, two binary stars. Planets currently with life: 4. Planets currently at war: 4. Planets with water: 1. View timeline of Project 204? Y/N”
“Woah! See? It seems that thesis might be right.”
“Well, that sucks. I wanted mine to host peaceful civilizations that devoted themselves to worship of cats.”
“Water shortage though? That would cause war,” Lili said with a shake of her head.
“True,” Kami said. “Did you find yours? I bet it’s near mine.”
Ayaan grunted, rubbing her head on one of the lower terrariums.
“Oh good kitty,” Lili praised Ayaan. “Here it is. It looks rather inert.”
“No, look. There’s that storm cloud over on the right side. Wow!” A fireball expanded in Lili’s terrarium, causing the case to thud, before it faded to black.
“Even your terrarium is a ROCKSTAR, Lili!” Kami said with awe.
“Hang on, I made the most passive biodome in my class. It was supposed to be chill, not this fiery monstrosity. What happened?” Lili pressed the button, and the monitor flashed on.
“Student name: Lilith Sumer. Class: 1 Project: 108. This system features one solar system with eleven planets, one yellow star, one asteroid belt, seven planetoids. Planets currently with life: Zero. Planets currently at war: Zero. Planets with water: One, but water is contaminated by nuclear waste. Student must repair this manually. View timeline of Project 108? Y/N”
Lili sighed. “I forgot about 108. I had to take the class twice. This one, I was still angry with my ex, so I created a bunch of monsters, and let ‘em fight it out. After, I stopped going to class, and failed the course. I retook it and created a better terrarium, although the professor said I didn’t have to. I got an A on this one, a B on the second one. No monsters in that terrarium, just basic life. Guess it wasn’t good enough to be displayed here. I feel sorry for these poor sods in 108 though. They didn’t deserve this kind of end. Guess that thesis was right.” Lili frowned.
“May I?” Kami asked, her fingertip poised over the Y.
Lili shrugged. Kami tapped the ‘Y’ on the monitor, and the screen came to life with a time-lapse simulation of Project 108’s alpha and omega.
In the beginning, there was nothing, then a dense white-hot light, which could be felt by the viewers. The light explodes, sending particles of light across the screen in a whirling dervish. As the particles continue to dance, they form stars and orbs, scattering across the biosphere, cooling as they move. In the center, a white light becomes yellow, and its gravitational pull causes the orbs to circle the little yellow star. Several planets turn blue, with signs of water, and life blooms on three or four, before they are pelted with hot asteroids on their own trajectory. Life ceases on all but two, but one floats to the very edge of the terrarium, out of sight, while the other stays relatively close to the yellow star.
The time-lapse zooms in on that third planet, and life begins to form from the most basic of amino acids. Single-celled organisms flourish and grow into multi-celled creatures. Large monstrous creatures roam across the land, and in the seas, fighting for life.
Lili smiled. “My little monsters. They are just as cute as I remembered them to be.”
A flash from something in the sky crosses the screen. An asteroid crashes into the ground, and then everything is gone. The monsters cease for their battle for land, food, and sustenance, in favor of death and decay. From the death comes new life. These creatures are smaller, and just as ferocious. Some create weapons and fight each other for land, water, sustenance and procreation.
“Interesting,” Kami breathed.
Lili nodded. “This must have happened after I graduated,” she said.
The creatures spread across the planet like mold to a rotten orange. It was quick and destructive. The group watched as resources were mined, water contaminated, species wiped out, and others conquered. Eventually, they tried to leave their planet, so the time-lapse zoomed out a little. They made it as far as the next planet, but not before a flash appeared, wiping out all life on the home planet.
“From bustling to nothing in a flash!” Lili gasped.
The time-lapse continued. As the screen panned out to reveal the other planets and the little yellow star, there was one more flash. It was a fireball, just like the one they saw moments before. Then all was still, before the time-lapse zoomed in again to find that life was beginning to stir once more. New aminos dance across the screen, and the whole process repeats itself with the same outcome over and over for minutes.
Glancing up, Kami noticed other terrariums with their own fireballs detonate one by one. The room is bathed in orange light in waves. Kami looked up just in time to see several fireballs pop in her own terrarium.
“No!” Kami whispered. Too late. Reaching up, she tapped the monitor on Project 204.
“Student: Kami Ainu. Class: e Project 204. This system features twelve planets, one red giant, two binary stars. Planets currently with life: Zero. Planets currently at war: Zero. Planets with water: One, but water is contaminated. View timeline of Project 204? Y/N”
Lili sniffed, causing Kami to look over. She watched as Lili wiped a tear from her eye.
“This is beautiful,” Lili breathed. “Horrible, but beautiful. How could such beauty lie in destruction?”
Kami shook her head. She considered the thesis.
“Seems like that thesis has merit after all. I- uh- I need to step outside a moment.” Kami soothed the front of her suit down and inhaled deeply. “Would you like to see the Performing Arts building?”
Lili stood. The smile on her face broadened.
“Absolutely. Show me the way, Kami-chan!”
Note: This entry was inspired by local events and interviews featuring Billie Eilish. This story takes place in the same universe as others in the World Builders series, but years in the future. The reader does not need to read previous stories under this tag, but is welcome to.
Thank you for reading. Happy New Year!
“Hey, thanks for having me,” Lili waved her hand, bursts of glitter emanated from her fingertips. “Are you the same Kami from the class of e? Two years behind me?”
“You remembered me? You were always so cool. I had no idea you even noticed me!” Kami squealed with delight.
“Of course, I noticed you. Just because I had a reputation to uphold by not talking to anyone doesn’t mean I was oblivious. You had an affinity for felines, I remember. I really wanted to adopt one of your creations, but my parents were allergic.”
“I still create felines, I’m happy to give one to you,” Kami said. Holding up a palm, Kami blew into it, and a tall spotted leopard shimmered into existence.
“This is Ayaan, and she is yours now, if you like.”
“Eeee!” Lili squealed. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
Ayaan circled Lili and nuzzled her head against Lili’s elbow. Lili cleared her throat. “Guess we should keep moving. Do we still have time for a tour?”
Kami smiled. “This way,” she beckoned.
“I do apologize that all of the students are away on break right now, I know they would be crushed to have missed seeing such a famous celebrity within our halls.”
“For the best, really,” Lili said with a shrug. “Last time I went to one of my old haunts, it was Andromeda Grocers over by the spiral arm? I was recognized and mobbed by fans. It was awful. My security detail had to call for backup. Speaking of, I hope you don’t mind that I took precautions.”
Kami glanced at the five very burly looking beings behind the celebrity alum. They nodded in unison; eyes covered by reflective visors.
“No, I get it.” Kami said with a smile. “I mean, I don’t get it, I’ll never be famous, but I do understand your need for security.”
“Kami-chan,” Lili said, leveling a gaze at the assistant dean. “You are an artist. Live your dream! Ayaan and the other felines you have created over the eons are prizes. I’ve poured over auction sites, and do you know how much Sibyl, your senior project from Celestial U is selling for? Billions!”
“Thank you for your vote of confidence. I would like to say that my best work is here on this campus, shaping the minds of students who grace our classrooms. But I do love my kitties, and it pleases me that others do too,” Kami said with a winning smile.
“Let us continue our tour then,” Kami beckoned. The entourage set off for a campus tour. Together, they reminisced about their lives during their tenure at Celestial University while walking across the campus.
Kami and Lili exchanged stories about their respective majors. Kami double majored in Library Science and Business Administration, but her passion lie in Zoology, which was her minor. Lili, the rockstar of the universe, started as a Religious Studies major, but scrapped that after a rather nasty breakup with her high school sweetheart, Adam. Lili graduated with a degree in Molecular Biology, but she found her passion in music.
When they reached the Biological Sciences building, Lili asks if we can take a peek inside.
“Of course!” Kami said, “You need to see the New Science wing anyway. The program has evolved significantly since we were students. There are now over 60 different biology programs to major in. Obviously Molec Bio, Micro Bio, Zoology, Botany are still here, but now Celestial U offers courses in Astrobiology, Biochem, Quantum Biology, Nanobiology. There’s even a program called Biological Warfare Studies. Imagine the possibilities if we were students now.”
“Dope!” was all that Lili said. Kami considered for a moment that maybe Lili didn’t care one iota about any of this. Yet when she glanced back at the rockstar, she seemed wide eyed, and enraptured with a thesis that was taped to the door of the Biological Warfare Studies department office. Thumbing through the thesis, Lili seemed to tremble.
“This is remarkable. This thesis states that they studied hundreds of terrariums on display from the university’s early days. It seems that many of the terrariums have waged war for millennia. The thesis suggests that all intelligent life are eventually drawn to use some form of nuc- nuclee,” Lili cleared her throat before continuing, “nuclear weaponry. Thus, inhabitants are prone to annihilating everything, concluding that all life leads to tragic death. Not peaceful death, not co-existence, just a harsh and destructive end to everything.”
Letting go of the thesis, it flapped against the door to the department.
“Kami-chan?” Lili’s eyes were wide with excitement.
Kami snapped to attention. “Yes?”
“Do you think they have our terrariums from when we created our little microcosmos? Because I really REALLY want to see if this thesis is correct.”
“Maybe?” Kami honestly had no idea. She knew that there was a collection of terrariums, but she had no idea how vast the collection was. She was curious too, so after a quick transmission to the head of Biological Sciences, the two students and the five guards made their way to the Biological Sciences Quantum wing.
Lili spoke quickly about how her life would be drastically different had such programs like Biological Warfare Studies been available when they were students. Sure, she found her studies to be fine, but warfare excited her. Especially the idea of biological warfare, the idea of creating monsters, and wreaking havoc on others.
“I mean, you can tell in my songs, right? I focus so hard on atonality and arrhythmic forms and patterns, that discord is kind of my jam.”
“You never did fit into a box, Lili, that is why you were easily the coolest cat in our school.” Kami agreed.
“Thanks, Kami-chan! You’re pretty cool too. Always have been.”
Ayaan gave a roar. The five guards jumped, while Kami extended her palm to the leopard. Lili smiled and stroked Ayaan’s fur.
“See? Even Ayaan agrees,” Lili purred.
“This is the Quantum wing,” was all Kami said. She opened a door with a wave of her hand, and the party stepped through.
Adorning the walls were hundreds of little biodomes. Terrariums of various shapes, sizes, and color lined shelves like bottles. Lights within the biodomes twinkled with an array of color.
“Wow!” Lili said with a fervent sigh. “Mind if I peek?”
Kami nodded. She too, was curious. Some terrariums showed no signs of organic life, while others offered detail on civilizations. With a push of a button, a monitor appeared, detailing at high speed, the history of that given terrarium.
“I found yours!” Lili called from across the room. “Oh this is so adorable! Come look!”
Kami crossed the room quickly to where Lili stood. In front, a glass dome featured an array of planetary shapes orbiting a red star. With a push of the corresponding button, the monitor flashed on.
“Student Name: Kami Ainu. Class: e Project 204. This system features twelve planets, one red giant, two binary stars. Planets currently with life: 4. Planets currently at war: 4. Planets with water: 1. View timeline of Project 204? Y/N”
“Woah! See? It seems that thesis might be right.”
“Well, that sucks. I wanted mine to host peaceful civilizations that devoted themselves to worship of cats.”
“Water shortage though? That would cause war,” Lili said with a shake of her head.
“True,” Kami said. “Did you find yours? I bet it’s near mine.”
Ayaan grunted, rubbing her head on one of the lower terrariums.
“Oh good kitty,” Lili praised Ayaan. “Here it is. It looks rather inert.”
“No, look. There’s that storm cloud over on the right side. Wow!” A fireball expanded in Lili’s terrarium, causing the case to thud, before it faded to black.
“Even your terrarium is a ROCKSTAR, Lili!” Kami said with awe.
“Hang on, I made the most passive biodome in my class. It was supposed to be chill, not this fiery monstrosity. What happened?” Lili pressed the button, and the monitor flashed on.
“Student name: Lilith Sumer. Class: 1 Project: 108. This system features one solar system with eleven planets, one yellow star, one asteroid belt, seven planetoids. Planets currently with life: Zero. Planets currently at war: Zero. Planets with water: One, but water is contaminated by nuclear waste. Student must repair this manually. View timeline of Project 108? Y/N”
Lili sighed. “I forgot about 108. I had to take the class twice. This one, I was still angry with my ex, so I created a bunch of monsters, and let ‘em fight it out. After, I stopped going to class, and failed the course. I retook it and created a better terrarium, although the professor said I didn’t have to. I got an A on this one, a B on the second one. No monsters in that terrarium, just basic life. Guess it wasn’t good enough to be displayed here. I feel sorry for these poor sods in 108 though. They didn’t deserve this kind of end. Guess that thesis was right.” Lili frowned.
“May I?” Kami asked, her fingertip poised over the Y.
Lili shrugged. Kami tapped the ‘Y’ on the monitor, and the screen came to life with a time-lapse simulation of Project 108’s alpha and omega.
In the beginning, there was nothing, then a dense white-hot light, which could be felt by the viewers. The light explodes, sending particles of light across the screen in a whirling dervish. As the particles continue to dance, they form stars and orbs, scattering across the biosphere, cooling as they move. In the center, a white light becomes yellow, and its gravitational pull causes the orbs to circle the little yellow star. Several planets turn blue, with signs of water, and life blooms on three or four, before they are pelted with hot asteroids on their own trajectory. Life ceases on all but two, but one floats to the very edge of the terrarium, out of sight, while the other stays relatively close to the yellow star.
The time-lapse zooms in on that third planet, and life begins to form from the most basic of amino acids. Single-celled organisms flourish and grow into multi-celled creatures. Large monstrous creatures roam across the land, and in the seas, fighting for life.
Lili smiled. “My little monsters. They are just as cute as I remembered them to be.”
A flash from something in the sky crosses the screen. An asteroid crashes into the ground, and then everything is gone. The monsters cease for their battle for land, food, and sustenance, in favor of death and decay. From the death comes new life. These creatures are smaller, and just as ferocious. Some create weapons and fight each other for land, water, sustenance and procreation.
“Interesting,” Kami breathed.
Lili nodded. “This must have happened after I graduated,” she said.
The creatures spread across the planet like mold to a rotten orange. It was quick and destructive. The group watched as resources were mined, water contaminated, species wiped out, and others conquered. Eventually, they tried to leave their planet, so the time-lapse zoomed out a little. They made it as far as the next planet, but not before a flash appeared, wiping out all life on the home planet.
“From bustling to nothing in a flash!” Lili gasped.
The time-lapse continued. As the screen panned out to reveal the other planets and the little yellow star, there was one more flash. It was a fireball, just like the one they saw moments before. Then all was still, before the time-lapse zoomed in again to find that life was beginning to stir once more. New aminos dance across the screen, and the whole process repeats itself with the same outcome over and over for minutes.
Glancing up, Kami noticed other terrariums with their own fireballs detonate one by one. The room is bathed in orange light in waves. Kami looked up just in time to see several fireballs pop in her own terrarium.
“No!” Kami whispered. Too late. Reaching up, she tapped the monitor on Project 204.
“Student: Kami Ainu. Class: e Project 204. This system features twelve planets, one red giant, two binary stars. Planets currently with life: Zero. Planets currently at war: Zero. Planets with water: One, but water is contaminated. View timeline of Project 204? Y/N”
Lili sniffed, causing Kami to look over. She watched as Lili wiped a tear from her eye.
“This is beautiful,” Lili breathed. “Horrible, but beautiful. How could such beauty lie in destruction?”
Kami shook her head. She considered the thesis.
“Seems like that thesis has merit after all. I- uh- I need to step outside a moment.” Kami soothed the front of her suit down and inhaled deeply. “Would you like to see the Performing Arts building?”
Lili stood. The smile on her face broadened.
“Absolutely. Show me the way, Kami-chan!”
Note: This entry was inspired by local events and interviews featuring Billie Eilish. This story takes place in the same universe as others in the World Builders series, but years in the future. The reader does not need to read previous stories under this tag, but is welcome to.
Thank you for reading. Happy New Year!