New World Beta

Where will mankind go when there is nothing left? Who will lead us? This short story is an unfinished piece of work that goes deep within the vast amount of space and time known as our galaxy.

New World Beta

Episode 1, Memories.

It is the first year of our new world. The grass is softer, and the trees are bigger. The air feels lighter but the water seems heavier. Everything’s so different yet, nothing has changed. The clouds are still above our heads and the sun still shines. The wind still blows and you can see the particles of pollen in the air. The only thing that still haunts me is the fact that this isn’t the same sun I saw everyday growing up. Life on earth was hard, so I was told. I wouldn’t know being a genetically modified organism. I grew up on the Stratosphere 101. What’s that you ask? Well, the Strat is a giant space shift capable of traveling extremely far distances faster than ever imaginable. It was my home for 73 years and was all I ever knew besides the data I gathered through the immense amount of research of my species’s old world. Well, there was the Dark Room. A room specifically designed to reflect that of earth’s ecosystem and is used toward compatibility testing of new worlds. I was only allowed to enter the Dark Room when permitted but when I was allowed, that was the only time I truly felt human.

I’m sorry, where are my manners? My name is Rod, or R.08, as the humans call me. Today I turned 74 years old, but if you looked at me, you wouldn’t know I was of that age. I guess the reason for that is because I spent the first 60 years of my life asleep as an embryonic cell awaiting my awakening. You're also probably wondering what happened to earth and why you’re talking to a GMO. It’s a complicated story that would take a lifetime to explain correctly so let me just sum it up for you. The world was sick. Sick of the disease mankind plagued upon it unintentionally. At first it was just for energy purposes and the industrialization of mankind but it became something much more sinister. Man's greatest downfall was that of greed. Envious of power and currency, the world was polluted and forgot about as man stretched for a greater purpose but forgetting the most important concept, where man started. As the old world turned to dust and all of the plants died, man had no other option but to abandon their home in search of something else, if not greater, at least sustainable. For generations mankind used the last of its technological resources to reach the deepest, vastest corners of our galaxy with only the hope of finding a new home. Well, what we found was even greater!

Oh my, there I go again. Only thinking of myself, I guess I’m more human then I realize. You're probably wondering what I am? Well, if not human then what? I am what I guess science fiction novels would call a clone. I was preserved the same way normal human babies were on the Stratosphere, but my father’s gene was then spliced and repurposed. Still human, the DNA strands were picked and poked at until the scientist felt they have made something greater than human. Less pervious to disease, astonishingly physically fit, that sort of thing. The reason for this was because humans were having trouble reproducing in our new environment being, the Stratosphere 101. Floating through space like a giant metal weather balloon with a limited amount of hot air, i could see the hardship of raising a family. I never knew my father for he died before I was conceived. Actually, 23 years to be exact. But none the less there is a reason I was created, and that was to adapt to our new world and complete mission Beta, Restore the human species. I guess you could say I’m one of the lucky ones.        

Episode 2, The Journey.

The sound of a woman's soft voice echoed through my head as i awoke on the shoreline confused of where i was. it took me a moment to remember what had happened up to this point in time. What was she saying to me? It sounded important. I couldn't remember what it was i was dreaming about, but i then remembered why i came to this place. The water was a lime green and smelt of sulphur. Probably not safe to drink or swim. I was ordered to gather information on the surroundings of the new world. as i looked into the cloudless sky, i could see a slight gleam of what was the Stratosphere orbiting just out of the gravitational pull of the planet. I could also see the remanence of smoke and debris from my crash pod earlier that morning just off the coast of the shore line. I guess i must have fallen asleep while being bored to death from this excavation mission. I was to gather soil and water samples, along with any other sensical information. My wrist was implanted with an Eco Comp Chip, or ECC. it was the only line of communication that I had with the stratosphere 101, and the only technology available to record verbal logs and data sample records. They used the ECC to track my every move and if something bad was to happen, they could still find and recover the information i had gathered.

You might be wondering where i am in relations to our galaxy and are old world in general. well, i have no clue and either does anyone else on the Stratosphere. Scientist can take a calculated estimate to where we are within our galaxy but there is no way to be sure let alone return, nor go further. This was literally our last shot. within months, the Stratosphere will be out of livable resources and all who inhabit the ship will die. This world by no means is perfect for human life but it seems we may have no other choice but to give it a good old fashion try, as they used to say back on the old world. The Stratosphere 101, came equipped with a nuclear imploader. Now, if you know what that means then you might be saying, “so what? Why put a giant bomb on a spaceship?” Well, it wasn't used as a weapon but more as a means to travel. The nuclear imploader was shot out decades ahead of us where it would create a blackhole in which we would enter and practically be warped thousands of light years into a random direction, so to speak. All was in theory until about a few years ago when we finally reached the spot of impact, just outside of our solar system. the detonated nuclear imploder did just what it was meant to do and create a perfect portal to what we called, the other side. I will never be without memory of such a beautiful disaster of cosmic proportions.

That was the last time i saw the sun, our sun. When we entered the hole, it was dark. Not your average i cant see please turn on the light dark, no. This was the exact opposite of light. Complete and utter darkness. No sound, no light, just darkness. The ship's power core was fried and everything onboard became an illusion of memory. We went for days in that darkness. All hope was lost. I remember hearing the faint cries of children and sniffling of women aboard the ship. We truly thought this was the end of the human race. Then one day, for some miraculous reason, there it was. A light shining from the distant darkness combing over the entire ship. It was the brightest light i had ever seen and pierced my eyes shut. The ship began to rumble intensely as we began approaching the light. Up until this point i had only read about our old world’s natural disasters, but this seemed just like an earthquake from description. Finally, it was all over, peace again. It was dark but not as dark as before. There was a sun in the distance, and with a sun comes possible worlds. If you never believed in luck before, now was the time. The planet we found was almost identical to that of our old world. Slightly larger and with two moons, but only half as much water. The portal destroyed our power so we could no longer run the engine but our electronics ran off of another power source, so we could still implement the mission. We had just enough resources to get one traveler there and back within a month's time which on the planet will feel like hours, maybe days. We had crash pods that ran off of their own small engines and could get one person to the world, but the only way to get back would be to wait for the stratosphere to arrive from gravitational pull. The mission was a risk, and not all were as eager as i was to explore the new world. I guess I'll be seeing all of you later. I wasn't always an optimist.             

Episode 3, Life.

Reviews

[Mr_Goth]

Author C Clarke, interstellar, and civ beyond is what roll into my mind this is interesting take on the last humans I really enjoyed this its very inspiring as well makes me wonder what will happen to these people.
my only complaint is is your i need to be capitalized it was driving me nuts looking at them other than its a nice foundation to a greater story I recommend Author C Clarke 2000 series for help if you want or want to progres as a writer and this story should have a back story and some drama as well those are my ideas i am a man who adores and writes science fiction and would love to see where this piece goes....
thanks for the adventure
Chuck