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In a celestial nursery deep in the heart of the Universe, a star was born. From the start, the star had a rebellious nature, and it soon desired to see what existed outside of its nursery. And so, using some of its plentiful stores of energy, the young star exploded from its birthplace and out into the Universe.

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As the star grew, it created havoc in its wake. It eventually crashed through the space between two galaxies, causing them to collide. From the force of the two galaxies colliding, a new wild galaxy was hurled out, with the now adult star caught in its spirals. The newly formed galaxy and the star were sent out into the Universe traveling at an amazing speed.

As the eons passed, the galaxy and the attached star slowed down. They finally stopped in a remote part of the Universe, and the now adult star rested for a while, perched above the galaxy. Then, the star became restless again. It did not want to spend its existence hovering in this isolated spot in the Universe. It still desired excitement and, now as an adult, danger, too. So, one day, it pulsed out and, pulling the galaxy and the inhabitants that now dwelled within it, the star continued its chaotic wandering in the Universe.

Again, eons passed as the star and galaxy traveled at warp speed through the remote edges of the Universe, always moving, always seeking for a more active part of the Universe. The star grew strong and powerful in this journey. It swirled with dangerous energy. The star would leave, as it always did in its travels, a wake of chaos, as it hurled toward the center of the Universe.

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The galaxy had also grown, and it now spiraled out with a dense population of smaller stars. The ones at the end spun too fast for planets to form. However, toward the center, where life had existed before the galaxy was uprooted, planets and moons did form again, as best they could, under the chaotic conditions that surrounded them. They mostly formed into wild and crazy solar systems with small barren planets and moons, on which the only life was an odd microbe or two.

However, on a rare occasion, something wonderful would happen and a calmer, larger planet and moon would form. On these planets, although a challenge, life did manage to arise, survive and evolve.  What would it be like to exist on a planet within a galaxy pulled ever forward by a rogue star toward the center of the Universe?

Zaragizz was one of these planets. The sky above the planet would swirl and churn, but more peaceful conditions existed below. The Zaragizz’s were a hardy species that evolved to become an intelligent and creative people. They enjoyed living under the chaotic conditions within this galaxy and built beautiful shimmering crystal cities to live in. Over time, the Zaragizz’s also developed space travel. They built sturdy ships, with hulls strong enough to travel through this moving galaxy their planet existed in.

Meanwhile, the star had grown to full size and was having an even greater pull on the galaxy. It started to spin faster and faster – from the center out. Planets and small stars were being pulled toward the center of the galaxy. The galaxy would soon become out of control. What will happen to the life in it, especially to the wonderful Zaragizz civilization?

The star has a terrible effect on the planet Zaragizz. The beautiful crystal cities crumble under an intensely swirling sky, as the Zaragizz people see their civilization being destroyed. The Zaragizz’s know they have to escape this galaxy. They had explored space and realized there was a universe beyond their chaotic ever-moving galaxy. The Zarzgizz scientists knew the only way to survive was to leave quickly. So, using all the resources they had, the scientists built a sturdy spacecraft capable of crossing the voids between galaxies.

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As the Zaragizz’s left the galaxy, the star, which had been expending energy for eons upon eons, started to become weak. It needed to regain energy to continue its movement through the Universe, so it started to consume the attached galaxy. The rogue, wild star eventually consumes the entire galaxy, and for the first time in a multitude of eons, it finds itself hurdling through space alone. So, with renewed energy from the consumed galaxy, the star burned a fiery path through the Universe once again.

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However, eventually, time catches up with all that exist in the Universe, even a rogue star. The star, once splendid in its dangerous energy, becomes ancient and wizened. It no longer had the desire to spin wildly through the Universe. So, the star returned to the stellar nursery where it was born. There, it became a gentle elder star, carefully tending to the newborn stars. Other stars would whisper to each other when they saw it, “Is that really the rogue, wild star that created all that chaos and destruction in the Universe? It is so gentle with the new stars, it’s hard to believe that is the same star!”

The Zaragizz’s meanwhile had safely escaped the galaxy before the star consumed it. Eventually, they made it to a small galaxy in a quite corner of the Universe. There, the Zaragizz people lived in peace under a calm sky on a planet with just one soft warm star. Again, they built beautiful cities, and these lasted for eons in this peaceful place.

Image by Smithsonian Institution via Flickr

That concludes the rogue star story. I hope you enjoyed it.