100 Years Away

Part 1: Decisions

“Why do you have to go?”

“Kate, we’ve talked about this,” Alex said. His wife sighed as she snuggled closer to him on the couch. “I’m the project’s leading scientist. They need me there, heading up the expedition.”

“How am I supposed to be without you? And the kids?” Kate raised her head and looked up at him.

“You’ll be fine,” he stroked her hair, “you’re strong.” She laid her head back down. “Just think of it as me dying.” Kate sat up this time.

“Don’t say that. I’ll know you’re out there, somewhere.”

“At least we have this time together.”

Kate took his hand.

“That we do,” she said. She kissed him lightly, and put many unsaid things into it.

-----

Three weeks later, Alex and Kate stood at the airport. The kids, James and Julia, hugged their daddy’s leg as he said goodbye.

“Be good for mommy, ok?” Alex said. James and Julia nodded. Alex picked up James and held him in one arm. “You’re the man of the house now,” he told him, “It’s your job to keep your mother and sister in line. Think you can do that?”

“I can do it, daddy.” James replied enthusiastically. Alex put his son back down.

“I know you can, son.”

A voice on the loudspeaker announced, “Flight 56 to Melbourne International now boarding.”

Alex looked up and sighed. He bent down and kissed his children on the head. Kate stood with her hands on her heart. Alex looked at her, for what he knew would be the last time.

“Well…” he started. But his wife cut him off with a sudden kiss. Kids momentarily forgotten, they shared a brief moment of passion in those few seconds. They broke apart, and Alex headed for the boarding line. He looked back and saluted his family before stepping into the vestibule. His son snapped a salute back at him, while his wife and daughter waved. Then he stepped into the tube, and Kate and the kids turned and walked away.

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Part 2: Departure

Alex stepped into the ready room. The other members of his crew were already waiting for him, dressed in their suits.

“Well,” Alex said determinedly, “are you guys ready?”

“Hell yeah!” Matt shouted. Alex smiled. Matt would have been fired up if they were going to the desert to study sand.

But this was so much more monumental. Everyone in this room would be heroes to generations they would never get to see. People they would never know would study them in textbooks they would never read.

-----

Kate turned on the TV. James and Julia sat with her, their eyes glued to the screen. An announcer was speaking over a live feed of a space shuttle with a countdown timer on screen.

“We’re just minutes away from the launch of the starliner Constitution, which will carry the remaining crew of the first manned mission to our nearest stellar neighbor, Proxima Centauri. The Constitution will dock at Moonbase Alpha. Scientists, historians, journalists, and military personnel have all been shuttled to the Moonbase for months now, where the first ever deep-space exploration vessel Intrepid is waiting to launch.”

-----

“Launch in 5…” The voice overhead said. Alex took a deep breath. “…4…” Six months of training had led to this point. “…3…” Was that light supposed to be blinking? “…2…” Of course it was. “…1…”

The liftoff was like an earthquake. Like a rollercoaster on steroids. It was, well, like being hurled into space at 25,000 mph. For a few moments, Alex was pushed back into his seat as the boosters fired, then he relaxed as the ship began to straighten itself out. It was only when he opened them that he realized he had shut his eyes

“There she is, boys.” Matt said. Alex looked out the window. Docked at the moonbase, with the final pieces being put into place, was a spaceship the size of an ocean liner. The Intrepid.

For the first time, all of it suddenly felt very real.

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Part 3: Dock

“All right, everyone, listen up,” the debriefing officer said, “You’re the first ones we’ve ever sent this far, so you’re the first ones to be under for this long.”

Alex listened intently, or at least, he tried to. His hands were shaking as much now as on the night he had proposed to Kate. He had nearly dropped the ring. Was it all pointless now? Was he abandoning them? No, he couldn’t think about that now.

“We’ve set up a point-to-point communications array,” the officer continued, “The data you transmit will be beamed to a hub on the moonbase, where it will be sent back to our headquarters in Atlanta. We’ve set up a computer with its own independent power source, so that it can remain in standby mode until it receives a signal. It will take four and a half years for any communications between us, so there won’t be much opportunity for chit-chat.” The crew chuckled indistinctly. One of the journalists raised their hand.

“If we’re going to be in cryosleep during the trip, who’s going to fly the ship?”

“The ship has autonomous systems that will keep it operational and on course. Trained technicians will rotate in shifts to maintain the systems.” The debriefing officer looked up. “Are there any further questions?” A murmur ran through the crowd. No one lifted their hand. “Very well then. Wheels up at 0900.”

Alex hardly slept that night. What little sleep he did get was plagued by dreams. Kate appeared, and Julia, and Jordan. Why did you leave us? No, I didn’t. You left us! It was my job! He reached out to them, but they crumbled to dust before his eyes. They appeared again and again, but he failed to reach them before they blew away. But always, the question echoed. Why?

“Hey.” Alex opened his eyes. Matt was standing over him. “It's time. Up and at 'em.”

As they donned their jumpsuits and boarded the ship, Alex couldn’t get the vision out of his head. He would never again lay eyes on his wife, save for one thing. He pulled from his case a photograph, one he had taken as soon as he’d known he was going on this mission. He, Kate, and the children, all smiling and gathered around a model rocket. He sighed and stashed the photo in the pocket of his jumpsuit.

He followed the technicians to the cryopod room. Along the way, he spotted the observation deck. As he looked out the window, he saw Earth from the moon. This would also be the last time he set eyes on the big blue marble itself. He could almost hear it calling out to him as well. 

Why are you leaving?

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Part 4: Destination

As he stepped into the cryo pod, Alex took a last look at the photo. There was still time. There was still time to tell them to stop, to tell them to let him out, to tell them he just wanted a quiet life with his family. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t pass this up. He couldn’t run away from everything he’d worked so hard for. He slipped the picture in his pocket. It would only be seconds for him, but by the time he reached his destination, everyone he had ever known would be long gone. He took a breath to steady his trembling nerves.

The door to the pod began to close. As it sealed itself shut, he heard a voice.

“Cryosleep commencing in 5...4...3...2...1…” The last thing he heard as sleep overtook him was the gentle hiss of air rushing into his chamber. The last thing he felt wasn’t a sudden chill, but a soft haze, like anesthesia pulling him toward darkness.

When he opened his eyes, he heard again the soft hiss of air, but this air was warm and humid. The door of the pod lifted, and he stepped out. He could hear the rush of air as the other pods opened. The others stepped out. Some clutched their heads. A couple vomited onto the floor. Alex felt dizzy, but he held himself together. As soon as he was able, he walked out into the rest of the ship. He reached the observation deck and looked out over unfamiliar constellations, alien planets, clumps of asteroids he had never even seen pictures of. And a small, pulsing, red star.

“Well, he said as the others joined him, “Time to get to work.”

-----

Four and a half years later

Somewhere in the irradiated wastelands of Earth, in the long-forgotten city of Atlanta, in a long-forgotten building, a long-forgotten computer began to beep.