It was the next day, and Arwin was already deep in his work.
He stood inside the vast studio—a place that had quickly become his second home. Over the past day, he had divided the white, empty space into separate areas. There was a small living space in one corner, where he could rest when he was too tired to head back to his apartment. He had also created a compact office setup, complete with a desk, screens, and basic tools he needed for planning and organizing.
But the biggest area by far was the heart of the studio—the shooting zone, where his movie Interstellar would come to life.
Today, he was working on the environments and backgrounds for the film, especially Earth—the version of Earth that would exist in this story, one struggling with environmental collapse and dying crops.
"Leah," Arwin called out, stretching his arms as he looked at the blank space in front of him, "Can you show me some templates for planets that are mostly nature-based or used for farming?"
"Of course, Arwin," Leah replied.
A large floating screen appeared in front of him, showing a selection of ready-made planetary environments. Some had lush green fields, others showed deserts or valleys filled with strange alien crops. Each one came with detailed specs—weather control settings, gravity levels, atmospheric data.
He flipped through several of them, selecting a few that looked promising. One had an endless field of wheat under a dark red sky. Another had rolling green hills and white clouds drifting lazily across a soft-blue sky.
He tried applying a few of them to the studio, each time watching the blank space transform into something new. But there was a problem.
Every single template had restrictions. Some were free to use, but most of the good ones came with a lock—you could load them as they were, but you weren't allowed to edit them.
They were copyrighted digital assets, sold by creators across the galaxy. Arwin could pay to use them, sure—but if he wanted to tweak the sky color, add more terrain, or even change a tree, he wasn't allowed to.
He sighed.
"So much for that shortcut," he muttered. "Guess there's only one option left."
"Leah," he said, "Create a new environment. Let's call it Project Interstellar. Start with a blank planet model."
"Starting a new project: Interstellar," Leah confirmed.
In the middle of the studio, a small glowing sphere appeared. It looked like a tiny model of a planet, floating at about chest height.
Arwin reached out, then made a zooming gesture with his hands. The sphere expanded, growing larger and larger, until it hovered in front of him like a giant holographic globe.
He floated in front of it, then reached into the air and pulled out a pen-shaped tool—a sketch pen made of light.
With a flick of his wrist, he started drawing. Hills, rivers, mountain ridges. His movements were smooth, like a digital artist drawing on a tablet—except this was three-dimensional, and he was drawing in mid-air.
It took him about an hour, but when he stepped back, floating in the air with Leah beside him, a large-scale version of Earth floated before him—not an exact replica, but close enough to give the same feeling.
He'd drawn the outlines of continents, rough terrains, oceans, and clouds.
Now came the inside—the part where most of the story would take place.
Since the whole planet wouldn't appear in the movie, Arwin focused only on specific locations. He began recreating objects and details from 21st-century Earth—dusty farmlands, half-functioning machinery, aging houses made of wood and brick.
It became his daily routine.
He'd wake up, eat something, then spend the entire day sketching and shaping this world. Sometimes he fell asleep right there in the studio, using a soft patch of simulated grass as his pillow.
---
Three days passed like this—nonstop work, drawing, planning, editing.
And then—he was interrupted.
It was Celyne.
The simulated sun was low in the sky when she arrived, walking across one of the farmlands Arwin had designed.
Her polished shoes sank slightly into the soft, squishy dirt. The ground was slightly muddy from simulated irrigation. She looked down, surprised at the uneven texture under her feet. She had never walked on real soil before.
Most of her life had been spent in metal-built cities, where every step was taken on hard, polished surfaces. She had never experienced the wobble of mud, or the smell of a field right after watering.
Around her, strange crops swayed gently under an orange sky. The horizon glowed, and the clouds looked painted—fading from gold to pink as the sun sank lower.
She looked around in quiet awe, but she didn't let her thoughts show on her face.
Professionalism came first.
She spotted Arwin a few meters ahead, crouched near some crop simulations, adjusting the thickness of the soil with a gesture.
"Mr. West," she called out.
Arwin turned, brushing his hands together.
"Oh—Ms. Celyne, didn't expect you," he said, standing up. "What brings you here?"
"I'm here with the final actor list you selected. They've all arrived and are ready for the auditions."
Arwin's eyes lit up. "Really? That's fast. When can we start?"
"Right away, if you're ready," she replied.
"I am," he said without hesitation.
Celyne tapped something on her holo-pad.
Instantly, the farmland around them dissolved.
The sun vanished, the clouds disappeared, the crops faded—and within seconds, the space had transformed into a large indoor room, bright and modern.
There were two comfortable chairs set up behind a long desk and a small stage in front with clean lighting. It looked just like a classic audition room from any professional studio.
"Well," Arwin said, adjusting his collar, "let's find our cast."
A/N: I am really sorry for disappearing guys, I am back now and I know the chapter is short and not much in it but just wait a little bit maybe tomorrow or today I will upload another chapter that will push the story forward. Anyway again I'm sorry and thank you for waiting so long for this.
Enjoy ✌️.