They Were All Made of Stars

Someone once said that the people were made of blood and water, flesh and bone; everything that would rot and weaken with age.
The people believed. Because someone said.
Someone said that they could – that they should – plunder the resources of their planet to preserve their fortunes and potency – even their lifespan.
The people believed. Because someone said.
Then someone else said that the people were made of stars; not blood and water, flesh and bone after all. That someone peeled back the skin on their leg to reveal a vast fissure of stone, an artery of stars that then poured out into the ether.
Yet the people did not choose to believe that someone displaying their galaxy ichor instead of crimson fluid, their rigid rock instead of pliant tissue. Because, as they all looked at their now decrepit planet failing all around them, no one wanted the responsibility of the terrifying realisation: that power had been theirs from the very beginning.