NOREBLOGSIR

“...but also, because of its purpose — and despite the distance and duration — it will make me feel closer to humanity somehow. The… oneness of it all, you know?”

Someone who might watch the interview with the Cassiopeia crew out of motives that run a little deeper than mere idle curiosity about news reports would almost certainly not see anything particularly remarkable in it. That person, sitting at home in front of the screen, safe behind closed doors, would have snorted upon hearing the technical engineer’s words. 

“Who knows, perhaps one day my time will come around again, that I can live another life. In the future, I help create.”

In his long-winded talk of closeness, he would have seen the affectation of a corporate explorer who happened to be among the first to enter the orbit of an exoplanet. In the pauses between his words, he would have heard the accent and the careful choice of phrases suited to the circumstances and the speech. He would have interpreted the speculations about an another life and the future as nothing more than pretentious expressions. 

And this man would have cared as much about the words that had faded away as he would about the howling of an oceanic hurricane, an announcement of a curfew, or a police siren dispersing a street protest. Just another interview, just another appeal, just another set of promises. To him, it was all just the same old noise, worn down to the mundane. The interview itself was a formal obligation to speak loftily and inspiringly, in accordance with all the precepts of the CEO of Corinth.

But Josef Cernan, sitting before the camera at the time — albeit for the archives and the company’s image — spoke candidly. And for him, every word carried weight; meaning was invested in each one; behind each lay something unique, deeply personal, and palpable.

The exploration and colonization of an exoplanet — a goal set by Corinth for the sake of all humanity, just as it is. The desire to survive is inherent in every human being; it lies at the very core of his being. Present humanity with the question of survival as a species — and everyone, without exception, will strive toward that single goal. Find yourself at the forefront of this strive — and upon you will converge the gazes, destinies, and hopes of billions of living beings yearning to secure their future.

For Josef, the future he desires is not an abstract concept. It will come. And whatever form it takes, it will affect him as well. Not through his children or his grandchildren, not through the curses or the recognition of future generations, but directly. What he calls ‘another life’ is not a life free from the threat of extinction or steps on a terraformed exoplanet under the light of the Tau Ceti f. It is not an allegory. ‘Another life’ is an another breath, an another birth, an another beginning laid down by the actions of the path taken before. Another cycle of Samsara.

“Everything is going to be okay.”

And this faith, this knowledge, this feeling unites like nothing else. After all, everyone’s fate will be shared — that of humanity, Cassiopeia, Mikael…

“T h i n g sㅤc a nㅤo n l yㅤg e tㅤb e t t e r.”

~

The first thing he felt was his ears ringing, with his heart pounding like a drum inside them, as if it had escaped from his chest. A throbbing pressure beneath his ears, stretching his skin, and the points at his temples growing heavier and heavier. A growing, drawn-out sound of alarm pulsed through the cotton wool, followed by the ringing of a critical system error that dug into his head, which was melting from pain; cyclical red lights flashed beneath his eyelids. Fear clamped down on his Adam’s apple, and his nose clogged as he tried to breathe. His whole body was seized by a minute spasm that prevented him from moving; a sweet, metallic stench lodged as a warm lump in his nasal septum; his neck tingled with the premonition of an imminent impact against the steel handrails — he was falling, flying into an endless abyss!

“…ulse 174, blood pressure 160 over 100 and rising! Simms!”

“Yeah, I took off the limiter! There’s a block — can't reached until the liquid drains!”

“If it goes any higher, it’ll be too late for a standard inhib shot!… 160 over 104! Damn it! Oracle, emergency opening!”

"[Copy that. Executing command]."

Echoes, barely discernible amid the system’s screams and his sore thoughts, rang out and faded away before Josef could catch them and figure out if they made any sense at all. 

Hot palms seized him and pulled, tearing him from the stifling haze. The moment he shifted position against his will, he inhaled uncontrollably and immediately doubled over in a spasm, gasping as he exhaled. A liquid rose from his throat and windpipe, slowly, too slowly, leaving his insides. His fingers clenched reflexively. His heart pounded painfully in his throat, and the cold that had closed in around him began to cling to his skin. He was still falling — into an abyss, a cold, endless abyss. Om Tare… Anyone… Mick…

~~~

won't write everything here, it will turn into a long... thing