A Nameless Horizon

Kai sat back with his legs up on the dashboard, fiddling with a small instrument in his hands. This particular instrument was used not for picking locks, not for any kind of thievery or mischief, but rather for discovery, and exploration. It almost looked like a thermometer, but rather than gauging temperature, it analyzed all of the significant properties of whatever object one used it on. 

    The small ship steered itself, so there was no need for Kai to do anything but wait. Wait for what, you might ask? Well, for another planet. Another rock. Another floating habitat that was most likely uninhabitable to the vast majority of species, only containing the kinds of adversaries that looked to slice, flay, maim, and eat you. 

    He looked out the window, a forlorn expression almost permanently painted onto his youthful face. His facial hair was finally coming in, the stubble on his chin reaching upwards along his jawline to meet his sideburns, his mustache curling downward, almost touching his beard. His tired brown eyes glazed over as he watched the stars slowly pass by his ship, another luminous sphere of plasma that might be the next one to destroy an entire solar system. A bitter feeling crept up into his chest; how many people were just like him? A volunteer to do excavations and grunt work on a nearby planet’s moon, when the entire world behind him was shortly evaporated by the sun, or the now red giant. The vast, formidable and unforgiving void of space was no longer intimidating to him, however; as strange as it sounded, it was familiar. 

    It wasn’t entirely hopeless, though. The rovers that the excavation crews used to traverse the moons in small groups were capable of space travel, albeit they weren’t suitable for traveling long distances, due to the small amount of cargo they could hold. So, Kai had resorted to drifting between planets and other astronomical objects, like space stations and anomalous entities, to survive. While none of these planets were overtly uninhabitable, dangerous elements tended to lurk in the shadows; ones that prevented Kai from staying at any one place for too long. 

    The back of his particular rover was cluttered with various boxes and trinkets that were scattered from floor to ceiling. Given that there was only one of him, he rid the ship of the other two bunks that took up a generous amount of room and used that space for more storage. Food that ranged from meats of animals he’d killed, to fruits indistinguishable to those that grew on his home planet, to growths that he could only assume were vegetables, per his dichotomous key. His bed had a single cloth spread that kept him warm enough when he slept - there was no night and day as he traveled, so he just slept when he was tired - and the bedside stool he bolted to the floor was where he placed his RAID, or Responsive Artificial Intelligence Device, when it wasn’t active. This said device was hovering patiently behind his right shoulder as he continued to flip his dichotomous key between his fingers. 

    “We’ll soon be approaching the atmosphere of an unknown planet, Kai,” the familiar voice spoke softly. It was a familiar voice, one that brought him comfort and a sense of companionship. He had chosen for this specific voice to be the one that personified RAID, given that the name of the machine itself was already not inviting.

    “What’s it looking like?” Kai asked habitually, having done this countless times. Approaching a planet, only for it to be unapproachable from the get-go, and even if it were, it wasn’t welcoming in the slightest once they got there. His voice was tired, the weight of having none of his friends, family or acquaintances around him anymore constantly enveloping his heart and mind in a state of misery. 

    “It looks like… it has an atmosphere nearly identical to that of our home planet. It has significant plant life, it rotates the nearest Sun once every 24 hours, and the planet is about 71 percent water.”

    Kai’s ears perked up slightly. He sat up a bit straighter in his seat, his heart beginning to beat faster. The description wasn’t entirely hopeless and dreary like it usually was, and it sounded eerily similar to his former home. “Is there anything else?” He asked, a hint of excitement creeping into his voice. 

    RAID paused before speaking once more. “There does seem to be a large concentration of pollution and other airborne particulates in the atmosphere… The ozone layer doesn’t look like it’s in the best shape. But,” RAID continued quickly, noting a hint of disappointment creeping back onto Kai’s face, “the climate is rather welcoming! This planet’s average temperature is 59 degrees Fahrenheit. This is amazing, Kai!” 

    Amazing, it was. Kai couldn’t help but let a smile get plastered onto his face. The corners of his mouth were sore, and his cheeks felt a muscular tightness from not being stretched into a smile like that in so long. He sat up excitedly, taking his feet off the dash, his boots clanging on the metal floor. “Take us, take us down!” He exclaimed. RAID responded in a manner that Kai thought sounded like she was speaking through a smile. “You’ll need to give me control of the ship-”

    “Control granted,” he interrupted, sliding into the back of the ship to hastily gather things he’d need. As he felt the ship begin to dip downward, he had a sudden thought. He called over his shoulder to RAID: “Is it breathable?”

    “Yes, Kai, it is breathable.”

    He smiled to himself as he set his helmet back down on a shelf embedded into the wall, picking up a bag instead. It was laden with two thick leather straps sewn onto a large, tough, fabric pouch. He slipped his arms through the straps and bent down to tighten his boots, tucking his pants into them as well. As he straightened and walked back toward the front, his jaw dropped at the spectacle in front of them. 

    A beautiful planet loomed in front of him, looking much more welcoming than the planets they had passed previously in the same solar system. This one didn’t have an ice-blue surface, or a large ring made up of billions of chunks of rock and ice; instead, it was beautiful. It seemed to largely consist of water, and scattered around the water were large land masses, some connected to each other, others floating on their own. This was different from his home planet, where there was one singular gigantic island floating in the center of a vast ocean that encapsulated the whole planet. Opaque cloud formations drifted lazily across the surface of the planet, obscuring some land masses, while uncovering others. A feeling of intense elation swelled up inside of Kai, something he had not felt in too long of a time. He staggered slightly as the ship began its descent, aiming for what seemed to be the largest land mass on this side of the planet. He began to hyperventilate slightly; the happiness he was feeling that spread from the core of his chest outward, covering him in an aura of warmth and relief, was a bit overwhelming. He fell to his knees, taking deep breaths. His chest felt clearer than it had in a very long time. 

    “Are you alright, Kai?” Asked RAID, curiously hovering in front of him. He nodded vigorously as the ship began to pick up speed, the land mass becoming less of a single unit of land and beginning to reveal the smaller details, such as a greener tinge to the land in the southeast, and a beige coloration to the west. He tried to stand up, but found that as the ship tipped downward, picking up speed, it was much easier to stay kneeling. It began to lurch suddenly, alarm flaring in his chest alongside the anticipation. “RAID, what’s going on, is the ship okay?” Kai asked uneasily, as the ship shook and vibrated more intensely. RAID didn’t respond for a brief moment, then replied, “Yes. The external temperature of the ship is heating up quite a bit, but this turbulence is nothing to be concerned-” 

    Kai didn’t hear the last of what RAID had said, given that the ship gave another mighty lurch, the shaking of the ship and the clattering of his possessions in the hull creating a cacophony of noise in the compact metal chamber. He shut his eyes forcefully, feeling himself bounce up and down more intensely as the ship endured even more violent undulations. He grabbed a metal bar that protruded slightly from the side, trying to steady himself, beginning to feel frightened. Some of his belongings began to slide off of the shelves, and a disturbing whirring sound began to emit from underneath him. He bit his tongue unexpectedly, causing him to yelp in pain; he tasted copper. Fear flared up more vibrantly now. What if they crash landed? What if his excitement was all for naught? What if-

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Kai opened his eyes slowly, feeling as though there was something trying to keep them shut. He managed to get them both open halfway, his vision slightly blurring, his surroundings swimming in front of him. He was laying on his side, staring at the steel wall in front of him. He immediately noticed that the shaking had stopped, and the ship was now very still. A large ray of light shined through the window, causing pain to lance through his eyes. He groaned and tried to lift his head, but that’s when he noticed it: a searing, pulsating pain that pierced the back of his skull. He growled as he sat up with difficulty, tenderly touching the back of his head where the pain was originating from. He felt a rather large lump, wincing when his fingers made contact with him. His vision was still swimming slightly, but he was still able to make out the disarray the back of his ship was in now. 

    “Oh, Kai, you’re awake,” RAID spoke from above him, descending to eye level. He felt a slight tingle as a scan emanated from her single mechanical eye, going up and down his body. “You’re alright. You seem to have a mild concussion, but that’s from the blunt force trauma in the back of your head.” 

    “Yeah, I gathered,” Kai replied grumpily, starting to stand. He spotted the culprit laying on the floor next to him: his oxygen helmet. He smiled, but it was more of a grimace. “Did we land okay? What’s going on?” He was squinting, holding his hand up to his face, trying to obscure the amount of light that was penetrating his gaze. RAID almost sounded like she was smiling when she responded. “We did, Kai. You’re going to want to look at this.” 

    Through his squinting eyes, Kai saw the back of the ship begin to open, the steel walls collapsing within one another as a beam of light began to peek its way through. Kai slowly approached the opening as it finished, and was immediately greeted by the sweetest thing he had smelled in what felt like an eternity: fresh air.

    But what he saw made his jaw drop. He was staring out onto a vast channel of water, the surface incredibly still, but reflecting the beautiful blue sky above. He could see the clouds almost completely unfettered by ripples of water as they drifted across the blanket of vivid cerulean. The mountains in the background rose in a wonderful crescendo, impressively green trees covering the surface of them, as they reached toward the sky. The grass in front of the ship that covered the land they set down on was waving lazily, as a light breeze made its way across the landscape, and peeked playfully into the ship. Kai’s hair ruffled slightly, and he felt a lump in his throat. 

    “Beautiful, I know,” said RAID softly from behind him. “I’ve been picking up transmissions and frequencies from around us; we’re actually near a civilization.” Kai whirled around at this information and let out a strange sound, somewhere between a laugh of utmost joy and the first choking of tears that began when you cried. “W-we are?” He replied weakly. 

    “Yes. It’s in a language that I do not understand, however I can translate it to English easily. There actually seem to be many dialects that I’m picking up, it’s not just one. English is in there, too.”

    “I- this is- what-” Kai was at an absolute loss for words. He began to slowly step out of the spacecraft, his boot gingerly touching down on the soft land below him. He inhaled slowly, breathing in the generously fresh air. He ignored the pain that was still emerging from the base of his skull. He didn’t care anymore. He knelt down slowly as he gazed out, entranced by the scenery, and began to subconsciously take off his boots. He rested his feet on the soft grass, tears now freely streaming down his face. He fell onto his backside, soaking up the warmth of the sun that provided them with safety, energy and happiness. He closed his eyes. 

    “What can you tell me about this place?” He asked RAID quietly, as he sat up after a long period of time. He watched the clouds on the water, still clear as day, then let his eyes drift up to the beautiful horizon ahead of him. The mountains permeated the sky, and Kai wondered what other beauties and mysteries lay past them. 

    “Oh, you’re going to love it, Kai, I’m finding out so much about it from scanning it. I’m picking up transmissions that are getting bounced instantaneously between these points on the surface-”

    He smiled as he listened to RAID list off more specific facts about the planet, such as how there were roughly 6,500 hundred languages circulating all across the globe, or how it took 365 days for this planet to orbit its Sun. His eyes began to droop lazily as he stared at the gorgeous horizon, which now sported a beautiful assortment of orange, purple and pink hues as the Sun began to set behind the mountains. “What’s the planet itself called?” He asked after a time, feeling sleep beginning to beckon. He felt happy knowing he could safely sleep here, knowing that this horizon would be welcoming him with open arms the following day, allowing him to explore all of its secrets and uncover all of its mysteries. 

    “Oh, the planet itself? It seems that it is named… Earth.”