FINDING UTOPIA

My name is Haven, I live on a planet called New Eden, where everyone lives a happy life in pure bliss. New Eden is a world where you get to smile every day, laugh every day and enjoy life. Our ancestors created a world without the fear of dying.

I love New Eden. I love living here. The sky is always blue. The sun is always out and we get to see the stars in the night sky. It's the perfect place to live. Now I know perfect isn't always a good thing but New Eden is what I would call perfect. Not many people would agree with me. Some would say it took us generations to come to this point in our lives. Here is a short story of how New Eden came to be.

Our leaders don't hide anything from us. It's how we keep the peace. As a people we know our ancestors came from a different world hundreds of years ago. A planet that was ravaged by war, famine, poverty and disease. Our ancestors wanted to create a world that is beautiful and free of the burdens of their home world. so, they came up with a bold plan to leave the old world and journey to the stars to find their utopia.

In the shadows of the wars and constant death with no end in sight, our ancestors bravely built a ship called Destiny that would send them to the stars. Destiny was a fitting name for the ship, which will carry a few hundred people. The builders of Destiny and their families were the first to board the ship and then came their friends and distant relatives.

These few hundred people would be the first humans in history to travel through the stars. Under the cover of darkness and without the knowledge of the world's leaders Destiny launched.

Our ancestors used the pretext of war to bring Destiny to life and launch into the unknown. Destiny is what you call a generation ship. Many of the next and future generations were born on Destiny including my many times over great grandparents.

Our ancestors didn't know where they were going. All they knew was that they had to leave their home before it was too late.

They wanted to create a world where no wars existed, where poverty, famine and disease were all but a distant memory. They knew the undertaking was going to be hard and dangerous for the young kids. They also knew if they didn't do this then in a few years time they would all be dead.

Nobody would miss them and Nobody would care of they were gone. That was their mindset. This was a secret the leaders back home won't ever know about.

Into the stars. Destiny went. What a wonderful sight the stars must have been. I always dreamed of going to the stars. Maybe someday I will go. So, the beginning of the journey was great. Everyone was happy and in good spirits. They were in Destiny, a ship so grand and so big that it had everything you could ever have hoped for.

Destiny had it all. Restaurants of all kinds. Stores to buy clothes, shoes and so much more. A playground for the kids to play. Video game room, botanical gardens, a pool, schools and jobs.

Our ancestors had to keep Destiny well maintained so the people had to do their part. Our ancestors who had specific jobs back in the old world like pilots, engineers, doctors and so on were charged with keeping Destiny running and in top condition.

The leaders, the ones who were chosen to look after the ship later became the first leaders of New Eden watched very carefully how the people reacted to being on the ship. Every chance they got they watched the ships cameras and saw their families and friends smiling and laughing and they knew they made the right decision.

Our ancestors realized at that time what kind of world that wanted to create.

Once Destiny reached the outer region of the solar system our ancestors had to find a planet to call home. With the help of the science team they found a solar system that would be far away and safe from the old world. The only problem is that the journey would take many decades to complete.

The news spread fast and to say the people were angry and nervous was an understatement. They knew what they were getting into. Our ancestors were relieved, anxious and happy that the next generation and the generations to come would be safe from the old world.

Our ancestors settled into life on destiny. Happiness and laughter engulfed the ship. Within the first year, the first baby was born. Her name was Heaven. My ancestor.

After Heaven was born, many more were born soon after. The legacy of the first humans to travel to the stars were born and raised on Destiny. Many more generations of legacy children were born not knowing their true origins. But that would all change.

Stories were told about the first world, about the wars, famine, poverty, and disease that ravaged the planet and how we came to be on Destiny. That's how I learned about where we come from.

The Juno system, planet 7SL now called New Eden was found by the new generations of leaders. The new leaders born on Destiny and the builders of my home New Eden. Two hundred years have passed since Destiny landed on this world.

I always wondered how the future generations, the Destiny born generation who never saw a blue sky, trees, flowers, plants, animal and an ocean felt the first time they stepped off the ship, felt solid ground and saw all these wonders. They probably felt excited to be on a planet they will call home and nervous about what will happen next.

What happened next is something incredible. My city. My home. What I'm looking at right now is what our ancestors built. New Eden is the legacy they left to us.

Today is Remembrance Day. A day where we honor our ancestors, the builders of Destiny. The builders of New Eden and the builders of our society. As I look out at New Eden, I see a city our ancestors would be proud of. I see a beautiful city filled with laughter and peace.

I walk freely through the city without worry of war, famine, poverty and disease. Our ancestors promised us a world free of that burden and that's the promise they kept and that's the promise we have kept for the last two hundred years.

Beautiful tall buildings adorn downtown New Eden. Beautiful homes adorn uptown New Eden. Along the streets are trees and flowers in honor of the people who came before us. Playgrounds and schools where the kids learn about the old world, science math and so much more and who can forget jobs which are plenty and abundant and just outside of New Eden is the ocean.

As a society we are able to discuss sometimes argue about the day's current events and more often then not we come to a peaceful solution. This is what makes New Eden great.

I along with the citizens of New Eden are gathered at the very site where Destiny first landed. At this site is a Remembrance Wall where the names of the first and the generations that followed are memorialized. The leader or simply Rhys is getting ready to speak.

"Families and friends of New Eden. Welcome to Remembrance Day, a day when we honor and pay tribute to our ancestors who gave us this world as their legacy and a promise."

Boom! A loud bang is heard coming from the sky. I look up and everyone around me looks up and to our horror the sky beginnings to open up. We see a ship barreling towards us.

THE END