The Star Ship Resurrection

The year is 2109

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

It’s also been said many times that the living is only alive because of the dead. Because of wars, genocides, and invasions that were used to “clean” the Earth, the world we’d left behind only remained “alive” because of the reoccurring pattern of life and death. We, those of us aboard what has become known as “The Last Ship”, will have nothing to brag about when we arrive at our foreordained “new world” light years away from the blood-stained chronicles etched in the archives of our birth world.

Maybe it’s true that history has a way of repeating itself and life will always find a way, but my story will remove all doubt and provide irrefutable evidence that some things can’t be changed and we, the human race, are cast in an unbreakable mold to commit unspeakable atrocities against one another in the direst circumstances.

For those of us who remain aboard this ship, this arch, as some have called it, the shadows still live within us and surface almost daily. Dreams haunt each of us during our sleeping hours in one way or another, but it doesn’t change that which cannot be changed. Human nature is and will forever be locked away in its primal womb and will never be delivered into higher consciousness as some have theorized.

For those of us who remain, we know that time is our enemy and will overtake us, casting us into the same circumstances that we’ve seen our fellow crew members confront during our journey to the new world we were led to believe existed.

For those of us who remain, the evidence continues to mount, evidence that will eventually damn us all, that, regardless of how sympathetic we state that we are when the time comes, we will choose ourselves over all others. Our legacy, our ship’s log, and our time aboard this ship will speak volumes about the nature of man. Even if we find a way to remove the evidence, hide it, or release it into space, it will still find a way to make itself known. There’s no denying it.

Eight Months Before Launch:

“Captain” Nicole Astral, only the third woman ever selected to that position in the history of the “New Worlds” program, took her seat as she’d done multiple times before. It was another practice trial run, she knew that, but if the mission was to be a success, everyone had to be prepared. She wasn’t under the assumption that just because she was a woman that she’d be given extra privileges or treated any differently than her male counterparts. In fact, she insisted that there be no allowances made for her, no excuses, no turning of heads when things went wrong. It was to be her talent, abilities, and skills that would be honed to perfection before a single person was welcomed aboard for the journey that lay ahead.

“Can’t say I didn’t warn you.” stated the technician as he slowly raised the captain’s chair from the horizontal position to a more vertical one. It was common practice to help the person in training reorient from the rigorous training exercise that left many vomiting and heaving.

“I’m fine!” announced Captain Astral as she waved the young man away. If she’d wanted a babysitter, she’d taken a job at a nursery. She’d trained almost all of her life for this position and this mission. No one or nothing would keep her from reaching her goal.

The mission’s details and agendas that began as books were now nothing more than a page viewed upon a screen in the briefing room. Gone were the check-off lists etched with red pencil marks. Gone were the paperclips and number 2 pencils that were celebrated when found under one’s classroom desk. Now, in the “new age”, the next generation of computers made life much easier, or so they boasted.

There had been some talk of postponing the mission several months prior, but at the last moment, the Command Center gave the thumbs up that set things into motion. There was no turning back because there was nothing to turn back to, nothing to celebrate.

The launch was to be nothing short of historic. The mission, the first of many planned to other worlds, but the only one to the Delta Quadrant would be hailed as the salvation of mankind. This mission, fully funded by those in power, was to prove that mankind was able to redeem itself. This mission would prove that history didn’t have to be repeated, that mankind could change for the good when it found itself near annihilation.

“All I know is that someone needs to shake the hell out of some of these idiots!” shouted the Team Leader as he walked into the briefing room as the final briefing was to take place. “They better check every system. We can’t afford any failures,” he added.

He was a gruff, stiff-necked man who’d worked at the Command Center so long that he’d forgotten what life was all about on the outside. He didn’t care about the world outside the doors of the facility anymore. That world, his world, was to be written off as a failure. It was his responsibility to launch mankind into space no matter what it took. It was his job to fertilize the universe with seeds for future generations. The research had been completed, planets that would sustain human life were out there, and come hell or high water, he intended on making that happen.

“Has everyone been notified?” he asked as he made his way to his chair at the control desk.

“Yes, Sir!”

“Well, let’s get this briefing over with so we can make our final preparations for next week's launch.”

“Yes, Sir!”

As with any launch, there are possibilities of mistakes. Even with the latest and the greatest, state-of-the-art systems, there are always some margins of error. It wasn’t something that was built into the technology, it was what some called fate.

As with all of the other initial launch schedules, this one vacillated from one date to another depending on the launch windows available. The team was in constant flux to keep up with the predictions and the weather that had grown chaotic due to global warming. If the systems weren’t calibrated perfectly, the ship and all of its cargo, both human and mechanical, would be blown apart. For those in charge and for those funding the “New Worlds” mission, that would be unthinkable.

“So, let me get this straight. You’ll tell me that the ship’s systems are finally working at optimum level. Can we get high-fives all ‘round? After months of fighting with the research and development department, the truth has finally come out that they were the culprits who initiated the failures in the first place! Let’s call it job security.” shouted the Team Leader over the hoops of the rest of the scientists standing nearby.

“Yes, all systems are a go including the food replicator, the first of its kind.” confirmed the voice on the overhead. The food replicator created food products out of stored raw materials, specifically created from synthesized materials, not organic.

“Well how about that!” commented Captain Astral as she smiled ear-to-ear. “Looks like we won’t have to worry about starving to death during our voyage into the unknown.”

“Captain, you know that for the first quadrillion light years, you and your crew will be in cryostasis, in other words, you’ll be frozen. You won’t need to eat. It’s only after the ship wakes you up that you’ll be afforded the opportunity to dine on the finest cuisine created by the most advanced systems. Unfortunately for those of us who are left here on this dismal lump of decaying soil, we’ll all be dead when you toast one another aboard man’s last and best ship christened “The Resurrection”. But, hey, at least we were a part of the greatest undertaking mankind has ever attempted.” spouted one of the other leading scientists standing near the podium as he raised his head high in the air and took a proud stance. After the celebrations, there was a sense of regret in the scientist’s voice as he and his team filtered out of the room and said their goodbyes.

Having been left alone, the Team Leader and Captain Astral finished watching the end of the training film for the umpteenth time showing a successful arrival at a world quadrillion light years away in some galaxy in the Delta Quadrant. Of course, it was pure imagination on the screen, nothing like it would be once the ship reached the new world.

“One thing is for sure, Captain, it’s been a helluva ride. I envy you and those thousands of people who will, like the film depicts, find that new world.” commented the Team Leader as he turned and walked out.

Captain Astral filed all of the memories away in hopes of seeing them become real once the mission was over. Mankind’s way of life was about to be irreparably changed, everyone knew it, and everyone had accepted it, but when staring something directly in the face, it doesn’t keep one from realizing, in reality, that not everything is perfect.

Within a few decades, all that was once called home will change. Climate change, an often-disregarded theory, was beginning to show its true colors. Unpredictable weather patterns, rising oceans that even now were swallowing up the coastal cities, and storms unlike anything seen before lashed at every continent on Earth. Times were changing and if mankind didn’t find a way to change, all that has been held sacred will succumb to what lies ahead. This was the very reason for the “New Worlds” project. It was to offer hope, and arc to preserve the best of mankind and set a course for our posterity.

As with any project, especially one of this scope, there was a selection process to allow for the best of the best, in many disciplines, from many nations to board “Resurrection” and be cryogenically frozen and stored until the journey was almost over. Within a reasonable distance from the selected planet, the ship would revive the cargo allowing them time for reorientation. At least that was the plan.

Launch Day T-minus 8 hours and counting.

“Let me get a final “Go Ready” from each of the stations here in the Command Center.” announced the Team Leader.

Even though the “Resurrection” rocket, soon to be mated with the orbiting units and become the “Resurrection” spaceship, wasn’t the complete craft that would carry thousands of people into space, it was still an impressive sight. Standing over 500 feet tall, all of its predecessors were mere child’s play toys. Orbiting the planet hundreds of miles overhead, the main component of the spacecraft, its cargo units, housing facilities, and storage components for the passengers eclipsed anything ever imaged by mankind to date.

The plan was for the rocket to escape Earth’s gravitation, sync up with the orbiting unit many times its size, and then once complete, engage the anti-gravitational energy system that would propel it beyond imaginable speeds as it bends time and space as suggested by Einstein many decades before. In theory, it had been proven that it would work, but up until now, there was no way to test it to make sure it worked as theorized.

“Okay control desk, give me the countdown sequence for rocket ignition.” ordered the Team Leader as he adjusted his belt and tightened his tie. “It’s time to rock and roll,” he shouted as the younger staff members looked at him in a puzzling manner.

In the launch area, all of the occupants had been boarded many hours earlier leaving only the flight crew to make their way to the cockpit. The rocket’s cockpit didn’t resemble the decades-old ones when the space agency was in its infancy. No, the cockpit or bridge was a lavish center, spacious, accommodating over twenty engineers, technicians, the co-pilot, and the captain. After everyone was at their stations, the alerts sounded notifying the executive staff that all passengers were safely stored away in the passenger compartments. All hibernation pods were fully functional and locked down tight. The only remaining crew members to be put into hibernation were those on the bridge. After launch and after completing the docking process with the hyper-drive anti-gravitational engines, the remaining bridge members would be safely tucked away for the journey to the new world. It was an exciting time for the agency that had worked decades to get to this point.

“All ready!” announced a voice on the overhead.

“All ready!” responded Captain Astral as she looked across the bridge at her crew who had trained equally as long for this moment.

“We’re at T-minus 10 seconds and counting.

The earth shook violently as the massive rocket slowly, but surely, cleared the tower. Those watching in the control room raised their arms high in the air, many yelled, and some cried.

“It’s done!” shouted the Team Leader. “It’s done!”

The year 2315

Attention! Attention!

The ship’s automated systems were initiating the end-of-mission wake-up for the ship’s Captain and her crew. It’s been 206 light years since the starship, the “Resurrection” left earth’s orbit bound for the distant dream, the Nirvana that the scientists preached about, swore by, and eventually, gave their last breath believing in.

Earth is now only a memory for those traveling the expanse of the universe on board the “last ship” ever to be launched into the Delta Quadrant. Gone were the blue oceans, the pristine glaciers, the green rain forests, and all of the achievements man boasted so hardily about, so selfishly about. Earth, having succumbed to the ravages of mankind, gave her last breath disposing herself of all responsibility for the mission undertaken by mankind after pillaging her for eons. Within 200 hundred years of the launch, Earth and her inhabitants vanished into an artificially created black hole created by overactive imaginations of man.

Alert! Alert! Alert!

The ship’s alarms and programming took over once it reached a relatively short distance from its predetermined destination. The time remaining before arrival was intended for crew and passengers to begin the acclimation and adjustment process needed after being revived from their stasis in hibernation (frozen) in tubes specifically designed to preserve them and once thawed out, return them to fully functional human beings.

“Alright! Alright! I’m awake” shouted the captain as she slung her legs over the edge of the tube in which she’d been kept cozy for almost the entire trip.

“You’d think they’d program the computers to a bit more kind when shaking up awake. I mean, it’s been what, over 200 years. Give me a break for a minute.” she added in a defiant tone.

Across from the captain, her first officer was stretching and yawning and bending as if she’d been at some luxury salon back on earth. “Yea, it’s been some trip. I wonder what’s for dinner. I’m starved.” she admitted as she reached for the locker’s handle where her clothes had been stored before launch.

“I guess you know that it’s up to us, you and me, to schedule the awakening of all of the passengers and the rest of the crew. At first, as you already know, I and the crew here on the bridge are revived first. I suppose it’s best. At least we can schedule the passengers’ awakening in increments as opposed to “thawing” them all out at once.

“That’s an excellent idea, Captain, excellent idea.” commented the executive officer as she staggered from side to side in an attempt to acclimate herself to walking again.

The captain and her first officer set about reviving the remainder of the officers to get the subsystems up and running. Granted, the supercomputers aboard their ship would manage the operational side including the systems that regulated life support. During the extended journey, there was no need for the ship to operate at full capacity. But, now that everyone would be “up and at it”, things had changed.

“XO, check the numbers aboard and let me know if there are any of our fellow travelers who might have passed over during the trip,” ordered Captain Astral.

“Yea, Yea, Captain!” the XO snapped.

It’d been some time since the protocol was needed in the ranks, and, in time, things would fall back into place.

Several hours passed as onboard checks were finished, readouts reviewed, and trajectory validated. The stats had to be verified and double-checked for accuracy. Their very lives depended on everything working at maximum efficiency.

“All systems working at full capacity, Captain!” stated the executive officer as she walked onto the bridge and took her seat near the navigational console.

“Did you check the support systems?” asked the captain as she swiveled in her chair to face her XO.

“Yes, Captain, I checked every system, every life support component, and especially the food replicator. There weren’t any signs of any malfunctions or glitches. If there had been, the master system would’ve given us a “no go” early on right after we woke up.” responded the XO.

“XO, you know that if the replicator doesn’t work, we have no backup supplies to sustain us or any of the passengers until we get to sector 4 in the Delta quadrant. We were reassured before leaving Earth that due to weight variables and restrictions, there weren’t to be any food supplies, backup or otherwise. The replicator, that miracle system better work or we’re all going to end up dying of starvation before we arrive at our future home.” noted the captain as she smiled a weak smile.

“Yes, Captain.” acknowledged the XO as she eased herself closer to the console and checked the systems’ reports on the replicator to be sure it was fully operational. “All systems are green at this time.”

Several hours passed as the officers of the ship went about their duties and reported back to the captain at regular intervals. Several stopped on the observation deck to get a look at the far-away galaxy they were headed. At the center of the galaxy was an enormous star, at least four times as large as Earth’s sun. Even from where they were on the journey, it has shown brightly on the horizon.

Taking a seat at one of the consoles on the observation deck, the crew member pulled up the star charts, fully automated with detailed long-range detection devices. On the screen, he could see their destination. A huge world, a planet much like Earth. It was blue and green and gave the impression that it had all the elements needed to sustain life. Even the Earth, when observed at a distance, gives a welcoming impression of warmth and hospitality, or at least it did. Perhaps this new world would do the same. The historic records accessed from earth’s preloaded archives revealed a solar system containing five planets, two that traveled close to the huge star, and three that revolved at a safe distance. Back home it would’ve been called the “Goldie locks” zone. But here, quadrillion light years away from earth, it hadn’t been given a title or name.

“What you think?” asked the junior officer as he slipped one image after another off of the touch screen to see the next.

Turning to face the Ensign, the Lieutenant stepped to the console and looked at the screen filled with multi-colored stars and cosmos giants. “Are you sure you have the right information, Ensign? Looks a little cluttered to me,” he said.

Three months later

“I can’t imagine for the life of me why this thing keeps giving me cereal when I select bacon and eggs.” commented a crew member as he pulled the small tray away from the food replicator’s window. It wasn’t the first time this had happened, not only to him but many others had complained about the increasing glitches. On occasion, the system didn’t work at all causing the system’s technicians to reset it over and over until it corrected itself.

“I’m telling you one of these times we come here to get something to eat, the system is going to tell us to get screwed. I’m just saying.” chimed in one of the lucky civilians, and engineers, who’d been selected to be awakened from hibernation along with about a hundred other scientists and engineers. They were called essentials back home when things went downhill.

For reasons stated in the operations manual, only a small group at a time could be revived from the storage compartment. Perhaps the reason was that the sudden influx of thousands of people would cause too much strain on the life support systems or maybe the sequence was put in place to keep the food replicator from shorting out. No one was exactly sure, but one thing was crystal clear to those who used the new invention, it wouldn’t stand up to a daily avalanche of that many people trying to get something to eat.

“Captain, I’m not one to push an issue that perhaps is nothing more than a blinking light that needs to be screwed in, but I and some others have seen alerts on the food replicator. It’s my opinion, of course, but I think it’s going to crap out on us, Sir!” stated an Ensign as he stood in the hallway outside of the galley.

“How many times has this happened? Why haven’t I been notified of this before now? How long did you say this has been going on?” asked the captain who was visibly shaken by the news.

“Captain, I know of at least 5 times in the last week it’s stopped in mid-cycle and shut off. You can ask any of the other people, both crew and civilian, and they’ll tell you the same thing. We thought at first it was just going through a regular check cycle, rebooting as needed, and repairing itself as we were told it would do from time to time. But, now that I think about it, it reboots way too often just to be a cycle check.” he stated as he looked at the captain.

“See that the maintenance crews, the technicians get on it. We can’t afford to have that system go down. There’s no plan B.” she stated as she waved the junior officer away.

Three months later

“Captain’s log entry dated 10212315. Today marks the third day that the food replicator has completely shut down. The crew, at least some of them, before the failure, took special efforts to request items that could be stored away just in the event of something like this. Our journey hasn’t ended, and we still have at least a year before we arrive at our final destination. If the system isn’t repaired to full capacity within a reasonable length of time, the crew will experience an almost unthinkable scenario. I’ve given my order for the crew to be vigilant and watch the replicator’s operating cycles. I’ve ordered them to store what they could of the food products that would last at least a week. At this time, the plan has been marginally successful. It’s the opinion of the scientists and engineers that we should expect complete system failure within a month, maybe two. It was beneficial to the mission that I refused to awaken the remaining passengers. If every passenger had been awakened there wouldn’t have been enough to feed everyone. A greater loss of life has been avoided, but yet I regrettably ponder the possible outcome if the system fails.”

For Captain Astral, the tone of her voice reflected the tone and emotional sadness of an unthinkable prophecy that might happen to the crew and its passengers. She shook the thought from her mind, swiveled her chair away from the console, and stared straight ahead as if she could already see the inevitability of the coming circumstances.

Finishing up, she switched the ship's log recorder off. Standing up, she walked to her window, sighed, and took a long hard look at the solar system where their predicted salvation was to be found. Many things in life are repulsive, and in this solitude of her quarters, she knew she and those who were awake would have only one solution to this insurmountable problem. Hopefully, the stored food would last long enough for the captain to formulate a plan, an acceptable plan, one that would work to keep most of her crew alive long enough to arrive at their destination without ravaging too many of those who remain asleep.

“I’m not asking for your permission!” shouted the captain as she stood up from her conference chain in the officer’s quarters. “If I needed your approval then I wouldn’t be Captain. Now, as difficult as this may be for all of us, we must make a decision.” she snapped.

“Captain, if I may add something here.” commented one of the invited scientists as he raised his hand to offer an expert's opinion.

“And what might that be, Dr. Selverman?” asked the captain as she tried to remain focused on the problem at hand.

“Well, as you are fully aware, and forgive me for being repetitive, we’ve experienced the unexpected. Our journey to this planet that lies ahead may or may not be what we expect it to be. After many hours of tedious research, scans, and calculations, the world, the new Earth, isn’t filled with water or animals or any other lifeforms as we’d hoped it might be. It’s a barren, desolate planet with minimum resources that, at very best, sustain only a small colony once it’s established on the surface. Now, having said that, and here’s the proof of my research, we must make the best decision that is best for us all.” he stated.

“What you’re telling us is that there’s no food on the planet and the food replicator has completely shut down. Is that what you’re telling us doctor?” asked Captain Astral as she reeled from the data presented that spelled the doom of the mission and the extension of mankind if no solution could be found.

“Yes, Captain, that’s what I’m telling you. Unless we implement your plan, however horrific it may be, we are all lost. It is better that some live rather than all of us die. It is better that those who would’ve otherwise perished give of themselves so that mankind, those of us here, may live to tell the tale of the ship named “Resurrection”. If there is to be a resurrection of mankind, it must first be killed. Then and only then can life come from death. I know this isn’t what all of you want to hear, but that’s the reality of our situation.” concluded the scientist as he sat down in his chair and looked away from the other members of the team.

Truth, even in its most raw form, is still the truth. For the Captain and her crew, scientists, and engineers, there was only one option.

“How say you?” asked the captain as she dissolved protocol to take a vote on the proposal on the table.

“Yes, yes, yes…” stated each of those in attendance.

“Then the vote is unanimous.

Without coming right out and calling it what it was, those remaining discussed the morality of the proposal. There were ways of carrying out the plan that would show respect and dignity to those who would pay the ultimate price. Regardless of how it was done, there were no other options. The scientists determined that a simple system that sustains those in hibernation, if turned off, would allow the traveler to continue their voyage into their imagined Nirvana, thus leaving the necessary remains that would be shared by the remaining crew members.

“You have my authorization.” remarked the captain as she lowered her head.

“Captain don’t beat yourself up over this. It’s been done for thousands of years in many countries. And, if it’s any consolation, they weren’t in the type of situation that we are, they did it because they chose to do it. We’re being forced into this.” commented the scientist who would champion the effort.

Once alone in silence and the last footsteps faded away, the captain resolved herself to the fact that someone must survive. Turning back to her console, she activated the ship’s log and made one more entry. “This is Captain Astral of the ship “The Resurrection”. It’s with the deepest regret that I file the last entry. There won’t be any others until we land on the planet.

"Es minus felices consumimus ut vivamus. We have become cannibals consuming those less fortunate so that we, mankind, may remain alive.”