Journey Beyond the Milky Way - Part 1

I started to awaken from the slumber I had been in during the six months it had taken for our ship to reach the outskirts of Epselon 5. My head throbbed and I shook my head to clear the hangover-like fog I felt as I was waking up. I pulled the ear buds out of my ears that had been feeding me information about agriculture on the new planet. A rover had been sent to Epselon 5 to gather soil samples, plant samples, and test the air that made up the atmosphere of our new world. All of this information was analyzed and transformed into a format to help instruct the sleeping occupants of the starship. The computer system and data concerning Earth survived the Great Nuclear War as a result of a quick thinking Techie. The computer was set to slowly awaken the fifty occupants two weeks prior to landing on Epselon 5. My muscles would need to be exercised and strengthened as they had greatly atrophied during my six month slumber in the cryostasis chamber.

The computer-voice of my friend, Tyler, instructed me to slowly sit up. I was dizzy and disoriented. Rushing the process would make me injure myself. While there was a doctor onboard the starship, I was not sure if the doctor was able to assist me in the event I was to fall. Slowly, I put my weight on my legs, testing them to see if they would still hold me up. Surprisingly, they did. While I would have rather been awake during our six month journey, I understood why the government and scientists would prefer we were to sleep. First, having fifty people together in such a confined space was a recipe for disaster. Second, it was less expensive to have people sleeping in cryostasis than to feed them, dispose of their waste, and other activities that waking people partake in. My mind raced with all of the information on agriculture that was fed to my sleeping brain during my journey. I was excited to begin my new career and my new life. Computer Tyler instructed me to begin my walk to the cafeteria to meet with my fellow travelers.

On my way to meet with my colleagues, I stood looking out of the portal into space. As I had never ventured further than a few hours away from my home on Earth, I was amazed and humbled by the absolute beauty of the vast blackness of space. I gazed out for a few minutes then made my way to the cafeteria. I was nervous and anxious to meet my colleagues. Each of them, like me, was carefully chosen to colonize Epselon 5. No mistakes could be made as this starship was loaded with seeds, livestock in cryostasis, and minimal building supplies hastily stocked into the cargo hold as the nuclear fallout spread across the world. My colleagues and I were the last ditch effort to save the human population that remained on Earth as the fallout from the nuclear war made the Earth uninhabitable. The human race depended on our success. I felt the huge weight of our undertaking resting solidly on my shoulders.

I entered the cafeteria and was pleasantly surprised at how well the engineers, scientists, and government officials made the cafeteria feel like home. I looked around the room and noted how many of my colleagues had arisen. I walked over to the table that had a placard with my name on it. I found myself seated with Oscar Bowles, Emily Taylor, Tony West, and Spencer Benjamin. While I had met my colleagues during our three-month training sessions, I had not spent any considerable time on a personal level with these people. I sat down and introduced myself.

"Good morning. At least I think it's morning anyway. My name is Taylor. It's nice to finally meet you," I stated nervously. Hopefully, it was enough of a conversation starter to break the ice as we all struggled to awaken from our long slumber. I felt a little like the fabled Rip Van Winkle minus the beard. My fellow table mates stood, shook my hand, and introduced themselves. I learned that Oscar worked for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with Emily, Tony, and Spencer. I owned an organic gardening store on Earth that specialized in hydroponics. We chattered on for a few minutes about Epselon 5 and the importance and excitement of the task that awaited us upon landing on the planet's surface.

The two weeks prior to our entering orbit of Epselon 5 flew by like minutes. As it was constantly dark, we relied on the artificial lighting aboard our starship to give us some semblance of night and day. We ate, slept, and exercised our muscles and brains to ready ourselves for our work on the planet. On our 13^th "night", Computer Tyler announced that we were approaching orbit of Epselon 5. We all rushed to look out the portals so that we could see our new home. Fifty people stood in quiet awe staring at a planet that was three times the size of Earth. The planet was green and blue with very little cloud cover. Most of the land mass was centered as was Earth prior to the continents separating. The blue appeared to be water; whether or not the water was full of salt like the oceans on Earth or fresh, potable water was a question we would have to answer when we landed. The anticipation and excitement filled the crew as we were instructed to seatbelt ourselves in as we entered the atmosphere and prepared to land.

The landing was spectacular, like the greatest roller coaster ride! The spaceship shook, trembled, and appeared to be on fire as we landed in the water that surrounded the land mass. Computer Tyler instructed us to remain seated until we came to a complete stop. At this point, everything we had been fed through our ear buds during our slumber came flooding into our minds. It amazed me that my brain could retain so much information even while I was in a cryostasis chamber. Unsure of how my body would react to the gravity on the planet, I braced myself, loaded up my gear, and waited with my colleagues to disembark the ship. Computer Tyler opened the hatch and we walked out onto the surface of Epselon 5.

Words cannot describe how beautiful the surface was on Epselon 5. The beach was covered with purple sand, unlike the beige sand on Earth. The grass was blue, not green. What I had assumed was a land mass centered on this large planet was actually a large lake. My mouth hung open in awe at the sight of this strange world. To think, I would be helping to grow enough food to feed the thousands that remained on Earth. These people were probably on their way to the planet in cryostasis chambers as we had been. I could not wait to begin my work on Epselon 5. I knew that I was part of a team that would help to save the human race from the nuclear fallout on Earth. Maybe this time we would learn from our mistakes and not lose this planet like we lost Earth to the destruction that is known as man.