First Light of a New Age

Chapter 173: United Nations of Mankind

Third Civilization Zone, Aquarius Island, Free Trade City of Aquarius.

4th Year of a New Age, Monday, 4th Week, 9th Month of John.

Different aircraft from the nations of Earth began touching down in the Free Trade City of Aquarius with their flags painted boldly on the fuselages as if to declare their presence.

Of course, this gathering had not come easily. Before the leaders even set foot in the city, specialized security teams from multiple nations had been dispatched to secure the ground and guarantee the leaders' protection.

It had been decades since so many heads of state would be concentrated in one place, and the thought of them all convening in foreign territory was enough to set every intelligence agency on edge. The protection details, usually rivals, now had to work shoulder-to-shoulder and coordinated not only with each other but also with the ever-watchful Austronesian security forces.

When the delegations finally arrived, the city that greeted them was unlike anything they had seen. Aquarius seemed to breathe with its own strange rhythm, alive in a way no city on Earth could match.

It had massive marble towers that rose into the clouds with elven runes in their surfaces that shimmered faintly in the evening light. Flying carriages drawn by winged beasts flew above while streams of Austronesian vehicles drove through the streets below, sharing space with horse-drawn wagons and armored vehicles of visiting delegations.

It was a place where two worlds collided, where ancient and modern, magical and technological, all bound together in uneasy harmony and a reflection of the strange reality all the nations of Earth now found themselves in.

The advance teams that had arrived earlier found the logistics setup to be somewhat of a nightmare. Unlike Earth, where international summits followed familiar rules and regulations as well as the same uniform technology, Aquarius was a maze of contradictions.

Every rooftop is filled with Austronesian drones, elven guards in green cloaks walking shoulder-to-shoulder with human soldiers in black vests, while silent crystal orbs floated in the air above, recording every corner of the crowded streets.

For Earth's representatives, used to rigidly controlled environments, the city's mixture of fantasy and technology felt both alien and disorienting.

Even the logistical staff, veterans of high-stakes diplomacy, found themselves overwhelmed. At times, they came close to rejecting the leaders' demands outright, unsure if Aquarius could accommodate the norm and expectations of Earth's ruling elite given the current circumstances. But turning back was never an option. The leaders would come regardless, because here, greed was the driving force.

Convoys streamed in throughout the day, vehicles painted with flags of nations that only months ago had stared each other down in Cold War hostility. Now they rolled side by side through streets as reluctant neighbors

Delegates whispered among themselves behind closed windows with some enthralled by the strange city's unique beauty, especially the streets filled with elves, demihumans, dwarves, merfolk, harpies, and many other races moving through its streets.

Meanwhile, others were silently calculating what advantage could be gained from the Austronesian Empire's resources, even something as simple as their prized cattle and beef.

The Austronesians revealed only hints of their true power, just enough to impress. What little they displayed looked like technology centuries, perhaps millennia, ahead of Earth's, but everyone knew the real secrets were still locked away, hidden from view.

After ten days of frantic preparation and delicate maneuvering, the bulk of earth's leaders finally arrived. The airport's many runways made their arrivals efficient, and by dusk most had gathered in Aquarius. Yet when they stepped into the city at last, even the most stoic among them were astounded to see the city and their surroundings.