Prologue
31 July 0830 JST
Tokyo, Japan
For centuries mankind has looked upwards with wonder. There he had found his gods, woven fanciful tales and pondered the deepest mysteries of existence. Long has the human race gazed at the stars, but rarely has he truly paid attention to them. So when six unidentified objects suddenly appeared near Jupiter it barely made the back page of the news. There were more pressing concerns down on Earth to be at the front of people's minds. Facebook, celebrities, sports, gossip, rumours, cliques, politics, career and romantic pursuits and the like dominated the days of most of the developed world. So was it much the same in Tokyo on that day, the day the world was changed forever, and the day we found out with certitude that we are not alone.
Dr. Hideo Kunasagi sat down for a quick breakfast in his small apartment in a high rise in central Tokyo. His 4 children came and went as he made himself a bowl of oatmeal and sat down. The oldest, Tomomi, was by the kitchen counter pouring herself a glass of milk. She was the brainiac of the family, taking after her father. At age 19 she had finished her studies with honors and planned on studying abroad in the fall. She had shoulder length brown hair and dressed very plainly. She was a bit overweight and average at best in the looks department which combined with her introverted, insecure nature didn't give her much luck boys, at least outside the internet. She had a few close friends but rarely hung out with them anymore. Most of her time had been devoted to her studies or spent online. She enjoyed video games, animals and nature, the latter she saw very little of in Tokyo. Sayaka was the middle daughter, at age 17 she was one of the popular girls in her school. She had long black hair and was always dressed to impress. She had a keen eye for fashion along with the vanity to match. Her boyfriend, Kenzou, was also one of the cool kids in her class and together they were the power couple of their clique. When she wasn't hanging out with Kenzou she was often out on the town with her friends, she frequented malls, concert venues and amusement parks. She kept herself quite busy with her social life yet still managed to pull off mediocre grades in her studies. Sayaka came strutting into the kitchen arrayed in a stunning new outfit only to immediately head out the door to meet her friends that were no doubt waiting for her at the train station. Dr. Kusanagi's only son, the 15 year old Michitaro was the jock of the family. He was an avid soccer player and martial arts enthusiast. He was clean cut and built like a rock, though his style of dress was very utilitarian. He often wore sweatpants and T-shirts to school, much to the embarrassment of his older sister. His social circles mainly consisted with his teammates and the hardcore gamer clique. Gaming was something he also shared with Tomomi and the source of much of their bonding when he was younger. He further identified more with Tomomi than Sayaka in his music choices, preferring metal and rock bands to the poppy and punky bands Sayaka enjoyed. Michitaro sat down to a bowl of oatmeal and an egg and hungrily snarfed it down. The youngest child was Yuki who was already at the kitchen table, taking her time with a bowl of cereal. At age 12 she was still a kid at heart. She enjoyed reading, watching TV and adored all manner of cute things. She identified more with Sayaka than any of her other siblings and often tried to tag along with her but typically was denied either by Sayaka or her father. Dr. Kusanagi's wife had died in six months ago in a plane crash leaving the children without a mother and the doctor a widower. He had still refused to date despite Yuki's urgings the past couple of weeks that he should move on and try and be happy again. Instead Dr. Kusanagi focused wholeheartedly on his children and his career as Chief of Neurosurgery at St. Luke's International Hospital in Tokyo.
Dr. Kusanagi mulled over the mail that had piled up during the past few days as he finished up his breakfast. "Bill, bill, insurance offer, another invitation to speak at a medical conference, hmm." Dr. Kusanagi mumbled as he went through the mundane items. Amongst the pile of envelopes was Tomomi's acceptance letter for one of the colleges she had applied to in the United States. "University of Alabama? Couldn't you have just gone to a nice college around here? There are plenty of fine universities in Tokyo where you can study." Dr. Kusanagi commented. "Oh dad, you know I wanted to get out and see the world. They have a good program in evolutionary biology that I'm interested in. College is supposed to be the time you take risks, try new things, push your horizons you know? I can always come back to boring old Tokyo and pursue post-graduate studies when I'm done." Tomomi replied. "Boring sounds like the perfect description of Alabama to me. If you're going to go to the 'States then why not somewhere cool, like Chicago or UCLA?" Michitaro asked. "I applied there too but I haven't heard back. Those places wouldn't be much of a change from Tokyo I don't think. I want to see nature, like trees, lots of trees out in the wild, not just a city park." Tomomi replied. "Hippie." Michitaro laughed. "Are you sure you're not going there because of a boy?" teased Yuki. "No." Tomomi blushed. "What boy?" asked Dr. Kusanagi. "Some boy she met online. It doesn't matter cause he's never seen what she looks like. She uses a chibi squirrel as her avatar." Yuki answered. "Shut up Yuki! It's nothing dad, she's just messing with me." Tomomi said. "Hmmm." Dr. Kusanagi grumbled. He would discuss this later he thought to himself. Now he had to get going before he was late for work. "All of you behave today. I'll be out late tonight so Tomomi, make sure your sister gets home at a reasonable hour." Dr. Kusanagi said as he straightened out his clothes and headed for the door. "Can't she just take the train like a normal person." complained Tomomi. "You know your sister, she's afraid of creepers at night and you needed the car today to run errands so..." Dr. Kusanagi said before stepping out the door. And so began the start of another ordinary day.