Genesis Program

“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
--Neil Armstrong

Earth, the blue marble, the home of humanity, and probably of every single living thing in the universe. Mid-21st century started with a massive economic downfall, causing wars around the world. Global warming increased, slowly converting the planet into a desert, just like mars. When there was no hope, NASA sent ten astronauts into the Trappist-1 planetary system, hoping to find a replacement for our home planet. The exoplanets of Trappist-1d, Trappist-1e, and Trappist-1f were all explored, with the discouraging messages of having dangerous conditions for life. Every single crew member died, their sacrifice made humanity reconsider their plans, and think about the generation we all had in the present.

In a coalition between NASA and the ASI, it was decided to secretly send a one-crewed spacecraft into the geostationary orbit, with the records of humanity plus an entire generation that could be the future “Adam and Eve.” The current generation of Earth will be most likely transported in starliners into other solar systems and return to Earth when the planetary conditions are reversed into good, but that’s another plan endorsed mainly by the megacorporations.

In this story, I was the chosen one to carry the weight. I was alone in this claustrophobic cabin, giving me free time to simply meditate and pray. Every time I turned to look at the blue marble, I cringed internally.

On these modern days, Earth has lost its ancient beauty. The Amazon jungles lost their green colours, being half yellow with small green dots. Like the Sahara desert you could say, but with more “life.”

Thanks to the amount of space debris and unused satellites, our planet developed its own artificial rings, but on the bright side a protective shield as well.

It’s ironic, the Hermes Mission wasn’t the first time we tried to find extraterrestrial life. Several missions into Alpha Centauri and Barnard's planetary systems were made, efforts placed into dead ideas. Maybe if the wars that raged in the 21st Century never happened the world could have been a different place, not the one where oxygen is slowly becoming a luxury.

“Over the rainbow they say.”

I chuckled at my own words. I have been awake for two weeks preparing for the ‘Sleep of Infinity.’ I knew the implications of this when I accepted the mission, losing everything in the present to settle something in the future of mankind and the universe.

“All right Intrepid we are going to proceed with the suspended animation.”

“Copy that.”

My seat retracted, slowly putting me in a face-up position. The grinding of the machines gave the signal of a startup in the cryogenic pod. I sank into the floor of the capsule while a lamella metal covered me. I took one last breath and one last look at planet earth that will surely not be the same.

I stayed in several seconds of darkness surrounding me.

"Central x-57, beginning cryogenic process, initiating centralized H-55-nitrogen."

Suddenly, the capsule was filled with white gas. My eyes became heavier as my body relaxed.

"Genesis Program is the future, see you in 50,000 years C-1899”

My eyes shot open and I breathed uncontrollably.

I heard several hissing sounds while the lamella metal retracted. Needles appeared on both sides of the pod, injecting chemicals to complete the resuscitation process. I felt so much pain that my words came out in gibberish, while the control over my body returned painfully.

I grabbed the grab bars in hesitance, my seat lifting in an automatic single motion.

First thing I did, was coughing harshly. My eyes narrowed thanks to the sunlight, they were obviously going to be sensitive after 50,000 years of being closed.

Speaking of which.

I turned to look at one screen, where the date of my coming and going were displayed.

Cryogenic Freezing began at 23:49, February 29, 2088 AD

Cryogenic Freezing ended at 23:48, February 28, ????? AD

I almost vomited, and my pupils dilated. My body felt numb, that horrible truth was torturing me from the inside. I prayed, hoping to forget my intentional dilemma, which is ironic how you accept something, even if you think that you are prepared to do it, but when that moment finally comes by anxiety attacks you like a hungry lion.

I cried, hoping that I could found inner peace with myself. They said it, no matter how hard you work mentally, you will feel the weight of an uncontrollable situation on your shoulders, but that is the reason why it takes the strongest minds to face the worst.

I looked up, my puffy, red eyes widening at the sight.

That is not the planet where I came from. It is Earth, but its beauty is different in every way. The continents and oceans are not the ones you got used to at school.

Tears poured out of my eyes again, but this time they were of pure happiness.

I felt it; I felt that inner beauty that someone has when watching a paradise. Clouds covered the continents and oceans in eternal splendour.

I took photos of the unknown land in front of me, and that's when the questions bombarded me.

Will humans still be down there?

What will life be like? Who makes it up?

Is there intelligent life here?

I shook my head and activated the other screens. There were still 7 active satellites around the earth, which have been amassing gigantic amounts of information about the planet. I analyzed the data about the embryos in the capsule and the one from Earth.

"Everything stable, changing atmospheric data and earthly conditions suggest that Earth lived through a second ice age ... interesting."

After ten minutes, I pressed several controls, making the Intrepid to steadily start rotating. The Earth's gravitational field pulled again it.

I raised an eyebrow in confusion, the polarity in the magnetic field was misaligned, but it wasn't negatively influencing the solar wind.

I shrugged, I didn't have the time or the resources to dwell on it; I was alone anyway.

The engines of the spaceship roared, and at every second the Intrepid was getting closer and closer to the planet. I deactivated the engines when I entered the exosphere, and after 1 hour at least, the atmospheric entrance began, causing the capsule to heat thanks to the aerodynamics.

I closed my eyes, and my jaw clenched, waiting for the splashdown. I deployed the parachutes, a void formed inside of my stomach. Intrepid made contact with the ocean.

I meditated, hoping for the capsule to quickly stabilise itself against the waves. I turned to look at the window... and saw how for the first time in my life, how the moon was reflected in an infinite ocean. If I am not wrong, 50,000 years ago I would have landed somewhere near Crete, near what used to be Greece. I retracted a notebook from the upper cabin, writing coordinates and other data that could be useful in the future.

I quickly took several things from the survival kit, including food, water, medicines, and a flare gun.

After activating the main oxygen tanks again, I operated some controls on the screens to activate the radio wave tracking system in case sapient beings inhabiting the Earth managed to read the signals. I turned and picked up the flare gun, hesitantly opening the hatch.

A hissing sound was heard, and the internal pressure stabilised. I took a deep breath, going out to what is “natural.”

The air smelled salty, and the wind was warm. The outside temperature was about 26 degrees Celsius, perfect weather for the moment.

Tears fell from my eyes, it wasn't noticeable, but I smiled internally. I raised the flare gun and pulled the trigger, shooting the flare that temporarily painted the starry skies of red with that powerful light.

I moved to the edge of the capsule, dipping my hand into the salty water while sprawling on the capsule's ladder. The water was lukewarm, tempting me to swim in this crystalline water. So much that with light as pale as the moon, the seabed was clear.

The icy breeze sent shivers down my spine. I shook my head and tried to forget my tormenting mental barriers. How you may ask? Well, by breathing slowly.

”Maybe I'm back in Kansas again.”

Upon re-entering the capsule, I looked at the embryo data again and apparently everything was stable. If I found no humans, a recolonisation might be workable.

At about midnight, I finally slept. I closed the hatch, never knowing the dangers of this new world.

Surely a beast rose thanks to evolution. I could be alone or accompanied, nothing was certain at the moment.

I was at peace even if it was, the waves rocked the capsule like a hammock, giving me time to simply relax.

---///---

I woke up at five in the morning and ate a very basic breakfast based on the small portions I had, not too much or little could be said, but it's better than nothing.

After several hours, I opened the hatch again, taking a deep breath in the clean air this planet offered for free.

I sat on top of the capsule, putting on a shemagh to protect myself from the sunlight, which was hellish I might add. That's something that worried me the most, the temperature was about 38 degrees Celsius. Another concern I had is how much time could the capsule survive. Many of the things inside of it were the seed for the future.

It was already three in the afternoon, waiting for a miracle to appear out of nowhere...... until my prayers finally bore fruit. I observed how a ship seemed to be approaching the Intrepid. My heart flipped over and I almost sent a cheer.

My scientific sense came alive, maybe humans evolved to resist contamination, or maybe, a starliner came way before my arrival.

Every time it got closer to me, I could see more details on the boat. I recognised it with a similar design to a galleon. The fine boat seemed colonial.

The smile plastered on my face disappeared. The crew was not human, but more like some feathery beasts that I could not recognise. My immediate reaction to this event was closing the Intrepid’s hatch with a digital lock, hoping to approach the crew peacefully.

The difference was enormous, almost frightening in my perspective.

Better than nothing.

I raised my arms. I noticed how their attention was already fixated on me, "Can you talk!"

I heard mumbles between them in response. They seemed to spoke with fear, and at the same time, as if they were being threatened.

For my horror, two creatures flew towards me. I stumbled almost speechless, my brain wasn’t processing what was happening right in front of me. The beasts shared a glance and raised their swords.

I was sweating, my heart was going a thousand per hour. I cleared my throat, "I come in peace... peace if you understand."

Internally, I knew they didn’t understand a word of what I was saying. Now my situation got terrible, not only was I alone, but I didn't have a weapon to defend myself.

A creature grabbed my right leg, lifting me while shouting something to its comrades. I was elevated for a few seconds, followed by a painful fall. I opened my eyes, and my pupils turned into pinpricks. Beasts surrounded me, also being accompanied by other animals with an equestrian nature in them.

They raised swords and spears against me while shouting gibberish.

One beast approached me carefully and touched my right shoulder. My first reaction was to get into a defensive position while standing up. It quickly retracted its claw, like if it just touched a wild animal.

I noticed details on their faces; they seemed to remind me of the eagles, but their bodies were all wrong..... a faint memory came back at me, for some reason, I think I saw something similar to these beasts in a book….

"I don't want to hurt anyone," I said in a calm, though forced voice.

They looked at each other with fear, I couldn't really blame them, now I know what's the feeling of being the alien.

“STAWAQUF EANTI DIMIKHALAQOUR TARTOHLAB!”

I completely froze, waiting for them to do something.

Suddenly, an equine with a ’horn’ was pushed in front of me. The creature seemed to be scared, sweat falling from its cheeks. Its coat is emerald green, its mane, if that's what you might call it, is brown with a yellow stripe down the middle. The ruby-red eyes expressed emotions, something that rocketed my attention.

That thing was trembling.

I raised my hands, trying to make myself harmless for everyone present.

"Nomíztaqid anaóti yuhawilatheí naakh mastash wifunafovísei!” someone in the crowd exclaimed hurriedly.

“Tiadha gínaw aplá yuhawilprospathe ehnai yakuni, den to wdwdana.”

Another one countered.

“lmyafealden échayu shayei kánei hataatípota, oúte kan gnorízoume ti eínai!”

“Asdaenato nahbósoumra méaa na ftásouasilse éna alminlimáni.”

The creature seemed to nod at the last statement. I raised an eyebrow, trying to comprehend what they were saying.

Someone pushed me from behind. I looked up, only to be returned with a fist to my face and stomach. I spat blood, coughing several times.

"W-w-what did I do!"

The creatures did not respond, it preferred to ignore me and retreated to its post. Suddenly, someone in the crowd threw chains next to the equestrian creature.

Immediately, my eyes searched a way out of this place. Seeing my distraction, one of them quickly put his wing over my neck, trying to hold me with all his might. I tried throwing fists back at them, but the grip was so strong that even my arms felt numb.

The creatures shouted. At that instant, the chains magically lifted, like if magic was controlling them.

"Wait, you don't understand with peace! STOP, STOP PLEASE !!"

It tied the chains around my right leg and my neck. A padlock appeared out of nowhere and secured the chains in unison.

The horse with the horn was crying while also being threatened with weapons. I couldn’t feel pity, my head was so dizzy that my ability to understand things disappeared for a few seconds.

"Sons of a-"

My suit felt wet. Looking at my abdomen, a bloodstain was forming.

"Damnit-"

I choked hoarsely. I was being carried to the bottom of the ship. If I lost everything, I don't know what will happen to the Intrepid, I don't know what will happen at this point, but my death is more than clear.

The heat and humidity are horrible, besides being constantly threatened by weapons.

”Okay....maybe I'm not in Kansas anymore.”

They threw me into a cell, I was blinking owlishly. One eagle sat me down forcibly, sending a fist directly to my face.

My vision went stars, and I blacked out.