Chapter Text
Earth, Year 2334
It had been 313 years since the Hail Mary launched, and 313 years since Earth had last been in contact with it. Humanity’s last shot, gone.
Once the window in which the beetles would return had come and went, chaos ensued. There were stories of wars, destruction, and nuclear weapons. Some had held onto hope, though, and built underground vaults where they began growing crops. Still, this way of living was not sustainable, and most of humanity had died of starvation.
Earth was not in the Goldilocks zone anymore.
There was no liquid water on the surface of this planet.
There had been 8 billion people living on Earth.
It wasn’t exactly known how many were left, but the estimate was closer to 5 million now.
There had been efforts to launch another ship, or so the stories said. But the world needed an Eva Stratt, and there was no Eva Stratt. The world was too uncoordinated and barren to put together the second-most advanced piece of technology to ever be created by humankind.
But while an interstellar ship was nearly impossible to create, with less than 0.1% of the world’s former population remaining, new technologies had been developed below the inhabitable, frozen, and radiation-poisoned surface.
In 2301, an advanced signal had been sent out from Earth, searching for habitable planets. If it detected a celestial body with liquid - most likely water - on its surface, or signs of life, this information would be sent back to Earth.
Over the years, many planets with liquid had been detected. About 4 lightyears away there was Proxima b, and about 14 lightyears away there was Wolf 1061c. Neither showed signs of life.
The only places with detected life were the Petrova lines plaguing every solar system. In 2325, the signal had detected that Tau Ceti had a Petrova line. This meant that Astrophage had a predator.
So why wasn’t Earth sending a ship there?
Because the surface of the Earth was so irradiated from nuclear weapons that even if the Astrophage problem was solved, it wouldn’t make a difference.
So now humans were trying to find a new place to live. It was a hail mary - even if there was a place with liquid water and other lifeforms, it could be uninhabitable or even deadly to humans.
The signal sent data back at the speed of light, so after 32 years, the 3D map of liquid and lifeforms in space had a radius of sixteen lightyears. It had been set to outline potential water sources in blue, and highlight potential life with a red glow. There was a new piece of data today - a tiny blue dot on the northeast edge of the map, and a bit below Earth’s orbital plane. 40 Eridani, a triple star system.
But this was new.
It wasn’t just one circle. It was a cluster of four circles, and another larger circle nearby, all outlined in blue. And when zoomed in, they were all glowing red. So there were five planets in the triple star system with detected liquid and life - wait. One was a planet - 40 Eridani A b, the first planet in the system - and the other four were moons orbiting the second planet in the neighbouring star, 40 Eridani B c, about 0.00965 lightyears away. The stars each had Petrova lines, as to be expected, but 40 Eridani A b and the red Petrova lines were pale in comparison to the four moons. They were bright red, almost blinding.
If anything was a sign of life, it was this.
Hmm…that planet was closer to the sun than the Goldilocks zone. It still showed signs of life, though. Interesting. But the moons were right smack-dab in the middle of the Goldilocks zone, and its moons were blaring red.
40 Eridani. Home to life. Alien life.
_ _ _
Earth, Year 2352
It took eighteen years, with 99.9% of humans being dead and all, but six large interstellar ships had been made. They weren’t nearly as advanced as the Hail Mary. There would be no coma system - it was highly advanced and may have been the reason the Hail Mary failed. Really, anything could’ve been the reason for the Hail Mary’s failure. The comas, any one of the numerous dangers of space travel, the beetles…it was impossible to know.
But this redundancy - six ships, all powered by Astrophage - would increase the odds of success.
The ships had been possible due to a group of unusually dedicated individuals with some rather questionable beliefs. Mary I through VI would arrive at the first of the four moons, K-2, in approximately 17 and a half years, although the astronauts would only experience about four years due to time dilation. 300 lucky people would be sent on the Mary mission, 50 on each ship.
It was funny. Astrophage had caused the catastrophe, but had also led humans to a solution. Interstellar space travel would not be possible without it.
_ _ _
One week, everyone living in Simon’s local vault was ordered to do mandatory physical tests. He hoped it wasn’t for military purposes. If it was, he wouldn’t be a part of it. Why were people still fighting and murdering each other when the most important thing was survival?
He was planning on appearing weak so he wouldn’t be chosen to be a soldier in one of the endless wars happening on the surface. When he got to the large room, though, it was a lot more interesting than he’d imagined. He saw people doing vision, hearing and cognitive tests, running on treadmills, being spun in human gyroscopes- wait, this was suspiciously similar to fighter jet pilot training.
Simon had never been to the surface. He’d imagined it before - lush forests filled with sounds of life, vast cerulean oceans, and infinite skies. He’d heard about sunsets, painting the sky in fluorescent shades pink and orange and amethyst.
Of course, the surface was probably grey and lifeless now. But he couldn’t help but imagine what the Earth was like before.
Sometimes, he let his imagination wander even beyond the atmosphere of the Earth. He’d never seen the stars before. He’d heard people describe space as dark and empty, but from the pictures he’d seen, it was beautiful.
Simon completed the tests, not even feeling nauseous on the human gyroscope. No big deal.
That evening, he heard a knock on the door of his small room. Probably one of his friends.
“Hey, come in.”
A woman in a suit came in. She had her hair in an updo and appeared to be in her mid-forties. She meant business. Simon suddenly felt informal, in his cozy green sweater and jeans. He stood up straighter.
“Congratulations,” the woman said. “You have been selected as one of three hundred members of the Mary mission, and one of fifty members of the Mary I crew to go to 40 Eridani B c to investigate the four moons that appear to have liquid on the surface as well as life. Your goal is to try to establish a civilization there in hopes to ensure the continued survival of humanity.”
Simon forgot how to speak for a moment.
He’d heard about ships being constructed, although by a rather…cult-like group. Never in a million years did he think those ships would be finished and ready to leave Earth in search of habitable places.
“W-what?” he eventually squeaked, and then cringed at himself.
“You have three days to make the decision to go on the mission.”
He would finally see Earth’s surface and the stars beyond. He could escape from this warzone and live. He’d been trapped underground in this vault his entire life, and now he was going to space. To a different solar system. To a moon with life and a surface without deadly levels of radiation. If the signal had been right, he was going to meet aliens!
Sure, space travel was dangerous. One out of one interstellar missions that had happened had ended in failure.
But he could just as easily die down here. Last week, a bomb had been smuggled underground two vaults over and killed everyone there.
Unlike the Hail Mary mission, Mary was a survival mission. And Simon wanted to survive.
“I’m honoured to be selected as part of the crew. I will do my best,” Simon said, still breathless. “Thank you.”
“Great, follow me.”
The woman swiftly turned and walked down the vault corridor. She got things done efficiently - she didn’t even stop to introduce herself.
Simon was led to an elevator, where the woman scanned her keycard and took them down to the lowest level. He’d only been down here once, during a nuclear bomb threat that had ended up being a false alarm. This level was the safest place to be. Of course, he didn’t think it would be much help during a nuclear bomb, but it was required by protocol to keep citizens as safe as possible. Why he was being led down here now, he had no idea. Maybe to make sure no one from the crew died in the next three days?
The elevator door opened and two security guards took it from there, escorting Simon to a large, dark metal room. He’d never seen much colour in his life, but this room seemed especially like all the life had been stripped out of it. The only light source was a spotlight in the centre of the room, shining down onto three men who were definitely the leaders of whatever this was.
The doors closed behind him and he heard something click into place. A lock. His heart started racing, but he reminded himself that this was for his own safety. He turned and looked around the room. Around thirty people sat or stood scattered around the edges of the room, chatting with each other in hushed voices, some friendly, some worried. There was a row of people at the back that looked more confident than the others. The room was oriented so the others formed a circle around the men in the centre. Each of the three men was wearing a sash with a symbol that looked like a mission patch. It was a circle with a tree as the focal point, its jagged branches extending to the outer rim and splitting the circle into three equal parts. On the left side was a star - Sol - with a Petrova line slicing it down the middle, crossing it out. He’d seen that symbol around quite a lot recently. On the right was a mirror image, but with Earth being crossed out instead of Sol. And in the centre, near the top, were four moons forming a diamond shape.
It seemed…almost like a cult.
Simon sat alone in the corner, for no particular reason. He just didn’t know anyone here and suddenly felt a bit awkward in…whatever this was. The people next to him were having a conversation about how this was not what they were expecting, and Simon could fully relate to that.
A few minutes later, the big metal door opened and two women were escorted in side by side. Following everyone else, they hesitantly took a seat on the opposite side of the room. Simon could hear both the excitement and the confusion in their whispered tones.
He wondered if he’d be spending the next three days in this room. More and more people would fill up the room, and it would get a bit cramped. Simon wondered if he should’ve accepted the invitation a little closer to the deadline.
All of a sudden, a big, booming voice filled the room - one of the three people in the centre.
“Welcome.” He waited for everyone to quiet down. “From lands near and far, you have all been selected as the saviours of life itself. As you all are highly familiar with, the Arc Destroyer of Stars has murdered our Sun and our planet. Every star and every planet have fallen, sucked dry of every living being at the hands of the Destroyer. Life, at its essence, has vanished - we call this the Quiet Rapture.”
Yeah. This was definitely a cult.
What had he gotten himself into?
The man continued. “You will travel into the greatest depths of the galaxy to ensure humanity’s salvation. Find out everything you can about the Tetrad of Moons, whether the answer lies in their atmospheres or in the depths of their oceans. We will bring one tree on the mission, aboard Mary I. This is to be known as the Last Tree, and it is representative of all life. You must never lay a hand on the Last Tree.”
Simon exchanged a glance with the person beside him who looked just about as confused as he was.
“These will be the pilots for the mission,” the man said, gesturing to the row of twelve people at the back wearing the same mission patch. They were probably also part of the cult. “There will be one pilot in each of the twelve ships that will take you into orbit and dock with the Mary ships, and they will pair up to pilot each of the six Mary ships.
“Do not fear. You will depart in three days’ time, and you will begin new life upon the Tetrad of Moons. We-” the man said, gesturing to the other two men under the spotlight, “-will be watching over you from here as to protect you. The Last Tree will battle against the Destroyer and keep you safe as well. You are Life, and Life must survive.”
Okaaay.
Simon could tell that the next few days would be interesting, to say the least.
Hopefully the crew members were more…normal.
One man raised his hand and spoke slightly sarcastically. “Is there, y’know, a bathroom in here at least?”
One of the cult leaders reached into his pocket and pulled out a remote. He pressed a large button and the back wall split down the middle, revealing a bathroom with showers and everything.
Over the next few hours, a hundred or so people filtered into the large room. The Weird Cult Men (he was calling them that now) repeated the script every so often, until eventually the only light source suddenly shut off.
“It is time to rest, my followers,” he heard. Followers? He had the urge to call the Weird Cult Men out on their mistake, but he’d rather someone else speak out first. No one spoke up. Everyone seemed to get the sense that there was some sort of hierarchy here.
There were no blankets or pillows. Simon sat against the wall, on the cold, hard ground. His eyes adjusted and he could see the silhouettes of the three leaders sleeping in a triangular formation right in the centre of the room.
Simon’s mind drifted to the ship he’d be on. The Mary I. He’d be able to look out the window at the sea of stars and find the constellations he’d studied in old textbooks for so long. But this time the stars would be real, in front of his own eyes. He couldn’t wait to board that ship.
His consciousness slowly faded, and without even realizing it, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
_ _ _
The next morning, Simon awoke to a bowl of porridge and a glass of water being served to him. A staff member - not one of the Weird Cult Men - was going down the line and passing out porridge and water to everyone. The people next to him had already begun eating, and the people on the other side of the room had not yet been served.
He tasted a spoonful of his porridge. It was bland. But he ate the rest anyway, since his stomach was rumbling. He gulped down his water and leaned back against the wall.
He was going to make some friends. If he had to spend two more days in this room, he didn’t want to feel alone. Simon was in a room full of people. He wasn’t alone, but he felt lonely. Other times, he could be completely alone but not feel lonely at all.
The two people next to him weren’t currently in a conversation, so he introduced himself and started making small talk with them. They responded enthusiastically and seemed curious about him.
These people seemed friendly. Simon thought to himself that there was such a stark contrast between them and the cult leaders.
As if on cue, one of the cult leaders spoke up. “Our doors have now reopened to allow other crew members to arrive.”
Less people arrived that day. Simon’s guess was that most people were either quick to decide, like him, or needed as much time as possible to make a decision about going on this mission.
Simon continued talking to his new friends. They talked about their lives and interests and found that they were all interested in astrophysics and Earth’s natural history. They talked about the weird situation they were in and hoped the ship wouldn’t be so weird. They didn’t imagine it would be. There wouldn’t be any cult leaders on it. The only cult members would be the pilots.
They talked for hours. Simon was surprised that even in this weird room, things could feel so normal.
That is, until someone asked to leave the mission.
“Is it too late to back out?” a boy who looked no older than his teenage years asked.
One of the Weird Cult Men walked over to him. “My dear, my young one, I am afraid that will not be possible, as you are one of the Chosen.”
“What’s that’s supposed to mean?” a woman called out a bit too loudly, and then covered her mouth.
The cult leader suddenly looked enraged, tensing his fists and jaw. Then he walked to the centre of the room, under the spotlight, and made sure he had everyone’s attention before speaking.
“You have all been selected for your superior skills and your fitness for interstellar missions,” he bellowed. “Life itself is in your hands, and leaving the crew to be replaced with a more unqualified individual would give more power to the Arc Destroyer of Stars.”
The chaos only intensified after that. The next time the doors were opened to let a new member in, a group of about five brave people made a run for it. They were met with guards and handcuffs, and were promptly returned to the room. One of the guards made a call, and a new group of guards lined the edges of the room, keeping a close eye on anyone who may consider fleeing.
Simon was worried now. He was starting to reconsider his decision. But it was too late for that now. They were all going on this mission whether they liked it or not. But at least they were in this together. He felt some sense of community in that. And he had friends.
It was time for dinner. Spaghetti with no sauce or meatballs. Simon took a bite. Everything was so bland here. At home, his mother and older brother often cooked elaborate meals, even when there was little variety in available crops. He couldn’t complain now, though. There had been times where the underground crops had not been as successful as planned, and there was not enough food to go around and feed everyone in his vault. One of those times, when he was a young boy, he had not been able to eat for days. His mother had to watch him starve, not knowing when food would be available again. After that, his mother always kept a stash of canned food in the closet in case of shortages so she would never have to watch her son suffer like that again.
It hit him then.
He doubted he’d have the chance to even say goodbye to his family, to his community, his home.
He suddenly wanted more than ever to stay on Earth.
He tucked his knees into his chest, rested his head in his arms, and cried.
_ _ _
This was it.
It was early morning on the third day, and Mary I and its counterparts were launching in just over five hours.
Simon would never see Earth again. But he’d also see it for the first time, from up there in the ship.
Simon was getting sick of the cult leaders’ speech. He’d heard it so many times by now that he thought he might have it practically memorized.
Many more people arrived that day. There were close to three hundred people here now, filling every crevice of the room.
They would board twelve smaller ships an hour before launch. Those ships would launch and bring them into orbit, where each pair of smaller ships would dock with the large ships the crew would be in for the majority of the journey.
It wasn’t until the final minutes before boarding that the last few people were brought into the room, restrained by guards.
They did not want to be here.
Simon wasn’t sure he wanted to be here either.
He told himself it would be fine once they were on the ship, surrounded by stars and headed toward humanity’s hope. Still, his eyes scanned the room, almost frantically, looking for escape. There were many more guards here now, watching his every motion.
Soon, the first half of the Mary I crew began being - rather forcefully - led somewhere by one of the twelve pilots and a group of guards. Each crew was being split into groups of 25 for launch due to payload limits, before joining back together after docking with Mary I.
When it was the second half of the Mary I crew’s turn, Simon was brought out of the room with 24 other crew members, including a pilot, and down a corridor he hadn’t seen on the way here. He and the others crammed into a large elevator. The guard scanned their keycard and pressed the button to the highest level. They began the long ascent. The surface, it was right there! He’d get to see the dirt and the grass and the sun with his own eyes!
The pilot turned to face them all, the cult symbol- er, mission patch on her uniform.
“We will be entering a building on the surface, where you will all be given blindfolds before leaving, shielding you from the eyes of the Arc Destroyer of Stars, the Destroyer of Life. Radiation suits will not be necessary, as the walk to the rocket should only take about ten minutes.
“The guards will wear shields above their eyes. They will walk us to the Terre I-2 rocket that will take us into orbit and dock with Mary I. Unlike the rocket that will take you to the Tetrad of Moons, this rocket does not use Astrophage as fuel, as it would vaporize the ground and whatever vaults lie below the surface in that area. Rather, it uses supercooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen as fuel. It will have no windows, and neither will the Mary ships. This is for our protection. Do not, under any circumstances, let the stars see you, or you will vanish just like all other life.”
Simon wasn’t sure he’d heard her right. There would at least be windows, right? He wouldn’t just be trapped in a box for years. Right?
Dread pooled in the pit of his stomach. Everyone looked just as terrified as he was, coming to the same realization. Humans didn’t do well isolated for years from the rest of the world. Some of them were guaranteed to go insane. He was determined to not be one of them.
He considered knocking the pilot unconscious, stealing her keycard, and escaping back to his home.
But he couldn’t bring himself to hurt another sentient being.
He doubted it would work anyway. There were a bunch of guards everywhere now, making sure he was one of the people being shipped off to a faraway moon.
Simon was going to space. But his ever-growing dread about the mission overpowered his excitement.
The pilot continued. “The journey will take about seventeen and a half years, but we will only experience about four years, thanks to time dilation. The ships will have communication with each other throughout the journey, but unfortunately we will not have contact with Earth. Once we get into orbit around K-2, the first of the Tetrad of Moons, we will use the Terre I-2 to land and build a base using the materials provided in the payload.”
The large metal doors of the elevator slid open, revealing a room with a door to the surface. That door was the only thing separating Simon from the soft glow of sunlight. Also, no, he would not be wearing a blindfold. They couldn’t make him. He needed to see the surface with his own eyes. Would the sun even be visible? Or would heavy clouds of radioactive dust that humans caused be in the way? He tried not to dwell on it.
A guard swiftly pulled a blindfold over his head and tied his hands behind his back in less than a second. He tried to struggle out of the thick rope around his wrists before realizing that would be nearly impossible. He felt like a prisoner.
Once everyone was presumably blindfolded, Simon was led out the door. He couldn’t believe it. He was on the surface, for the first time in his life. The sun warmed his skin and a gentle breeze brushed his arms. The surface was quieter than he’d imagined. There was no chirping, or the sound of paws on the ground, or distant prowling. The only sounds came from the crunch of the group’s shoes against the ground. It sounded like a combination of small rocks and something soft - dirt? He breathed in the fresh air, feeling the oxygen enter his lungs. For a moment, he completely forgot about where he was being taken. Then the dread slowly resurfaced in his mind, spreading through him and tensing every muscle in his body.
These would be his last few moments on this planet, and he wanted to enjoy them. He had one chance to do what he was about to do.
In one sudden motion, before the guard behind him could even react, Simon tried to slide the blindfold off with his shoulder.
It didn’t work, and the guard was sure to have noticed.
He struggled against the rope and eventually freed his arms. The guard gripped Simon’s wrists, but he turned and swung his leg into the guard’s arms to detach them from his own. He heard the guard lose their balance and tumble to the ground behind him. Then he ran as fast as he could to somewhere, anywhere else, using his newly freed hands to rip off his blindfold.
Simon stopped in place. He couldn’t stop staring at what was before him. All around him, real dirt and skies stretching out further than he could see. The air had a greyish tint to it, like he’d expected, but it was still clear enough to see through. The land in this area was empty, but there were crumbling buildings in the distance.
His eyes locked on a spot of green on the ground. Plants, living on the surface. His breath caught in his throat and he ran straight toward it. He bent down and felt the plant, its leaves, its stem, between his fingertips. This plant was hardy - it had survived and adapted to the radiation - but he touched it delicately like it would wither and die if he didn’t. The whole world disappeared except for him and this plant. For an inexplicable reason, he felt such a strong connection to it. He put his nose to the plant and breathed in the oxygen it gifted him.
His breaths became shaky as he put both his hands onto the ground, picking up handfuls of soil. It was a mixture of soft brown powder, stones, and other small things. Finally, he tilted his head back and stared at the glowing object in the sky - the Sun. His eyes burned, though he was unsure whether it was from the Sun or from the tears that were now streaming down his face. He was sitting there, on his knees, nails clawing at the soil, and staring completely in awe at the Sun like it was the last thing he’d see.
Then something blunt hit him on the side of his head, knocking him out cold.