Location: Blackwood Grand Auction Dome, Dominion Capital
The auction floor buzzed with tension and greed. Thousands filled the vast dome—surviving rebels seated at the back in red uniforms, while the wealthy and elite gathered at the front, eyeing their climb to greater numbers.
A massive digital screen displayed the countdown:
> "REDEMPTION AUCTION: BLACKWOOD NUMBERS 5 TO 10"
Starting Bid for Number 5: 10,000,000,000 BC (Blackwood Currency)
A sharp chime rang. Silence followed.
Then the voice of Christiana echoed across the dome.
> "Let the bidding for Blackwood Number 5 begin. The holder of this number shall have dominion second only to Blackwood 4. This number will be inherited by your firstborn as 5I, and so on. You will rule your region with absolute power under the God of the Empire."
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Bidding: Number 5
1. Bidder: Marcus Talon
Net Worth: 84 Billion BC
Source: Global Arms Manufacturing
Bid: 10 Billion BC
2. Bidder: Celeste Vorn
Net Worth: 111 Billion BC
Source: Blackwood Tech Holdings
Bid: 10.2 Billion BC
3. Bidder: Nero Alrik
Net Worth: 128 Billion BC
Source: Interstellar Mining Guild
Bid: 11 Billion BC
4. Bidder: Sylva Grell (First Class Rebel turned loyalist)
Net Worth: 19 Billion BC
Source: Energy Systems (Rebranded)
Bid: 13 Billion BC
Crowd gasps.
5. Final Bidder: Emperor Wu-Khan
Net Worth: 210 Billion BC
Source: AI Surveillance Global Syndicate
Bid: 15 Billion BC
Sold. To Wu-Khan.
His firstborn daughter, 5I, stands and bows. A crown of digital code flashes on her head—her birthmark: the number 5.
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Bidding: Number 6
> Starting Bid: 9 Billion BC
1. Bidder: Lady Valencia De'Mir
Net Worth: 67 Billion BC
Source: Pharmaceuticals
Bid: 9.5 Billion BC
2. Bidder: General Ares Trayn
Net Worth: 93 Billion BC
Source: Private Armies
Bid: 10.4 Billion BC
"Let me fight for that number if I must," he growls.
Sold. To Ares Trayn.
His firstborn: 6I, a military prodigy, only 14.
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Bidding: Number 7–10
(Rapid Summary)
7: Won by Lysandra Morn (Luxury Space Yachts) – 8.7 Billion BC
8: Won by Darius Yung (Food & Water Globalization) – 7.9 Billion BC
9: Won by Prince Calderon (Former Royalty, Empire Loyalist) – 7.3 Billion BC
10: Claimed by Nova Ren (First female AI hybrid CEO) – 6.6 Billion BC
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Chris POV – Watching from the Throne Room, unseen
> "Now they fight... not for freedom, but for position. Every year, I'll reopen the auction. And every year, they'll pay to keep what they think they own."
> "Let them auction their legacy. Let them tattoo their children with numbers. I turned rebellion into a marketplace."
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