Welcome to 2524

“Hello. How are you doing? Are you ok? No, don’t sit up, not yet. Shhh... Don’t try to talk either. I know all of this is confusing. Please let me explain a few things. You had a procedure done. Your body needs to acclimate for a minute before you can talk or function. Right now, a drug is coursing through your veins to keep your body relaxed. Your mind is awake, but your body isn’t. Anyway, welcome to 2524.”

“You’re on the planet Wolf 1069b, about 31 lightyears from Earth. I’m going to let you rest for a bit. Relax, go through the information I just gave you and get some more sleep. Your subconscious will slowly feed all of this to you as you sleep. It’ll be less confusing that way. I’ll be right here when you wake up.”

Your eyes flutter a bit, then close.

“Hey, welcome back. The doctors say that you can sit up this time. Are you ready for that? Yes, ok great. Just move easily. It’ll be tough as your muscles have been idle for over 500 years. I’ll get the nurse in here to rearrange your pillows for you.”

“Why can’t you do it for me?” you ask.

”That’s easy. I’m a program in your head. I’m your connection to the world around you. I’ll get you acclimated to the new world and your new job. Everything is quite different, as you would imagine. Here’s the nurse now.”

A slim woman enters the room. She is wearing scrubs, but the movement of her body is different from what you're used to. Is she an alien?

“No. As odd as it would seem, we haven’t come across any other intelligent life in the areas of space that we’ve ventured into. The nurse is a robot. She’s an older model; it seems to help those coming awake from the past to see something different in them. The new ones, whew, you can’t tell the difference. I connect with everything around me, and I’m not sure I can always tell the difference between them and you.”

The nurse checks your vitals and moves the pillows for you as asked.

“You can stop staring. She doesn’t like it. But she is willing to answer any questions if you have any.”

“Umm...” Your voice comes out gruff from lack of use. You clear your throat and try again. “Hello,” you manage. It hurts a bit; your throat is dry. “Water, please,” you croak.

The nurse grabs a cup and pours water out of her right index finger. You slowly take it, realizing that your arms are very weak. As you hold the cup, it shakes a bit. As you concentrate, it steadies. You take a sip, and it’s the best water that you have ever tasted.

“Oh yeah, the water here is amazing. It has never had to deal with the pollutants that Earth has. Since we didn’t find Wolf until we had figured out clean energy, we didn’t bring any coal-burning or nuclear-powered items here. This place is what Earth should’ve been if there hadn’t been an Industrial Revolution. Just wait until you eat the food. I can’t wait to feel your experience with that.”

“Will I be able to walk?” you ask the nurse.

“Yes, you should be able to move around with no restrictions in about an hour. The drugs are working their way out of your system as we speak. Is there anything else that you require?”

“Food?” you ask.

“Not yet, the nanites are still converting your DNA to take the necessary precautions. Although this planet is clean, some different diseases and pathogens can cause harm,” the nurse responds.

“Yes, I hadn’t gotten around to that. Thank the nurse, and she will go.” Rommy tells you.

You do as asked and watch the nurse leave. You notice why her stride is different. Her knees don’t bend backward; they bend both ways. It causes her to have a longer and smoother stride, yet it is odd to watch. As you sit back to sort through all of the information that you have received, it suddenly occurs to you that you are alone in this world. Everyone you ever knew is dead and gone. Shoot, they aren’t even on the same planet. They are on a planet that is 31 lightyears away. How long would it take to get back to Earth?

“30 hours with current FTL technology,” Rommy answers your thought.

“The new nanites that I’m monitoring will help keep you healthy. The oldest living human is now 300. She wasn’t even born with nanites, like you. Those that were seem to be able to live for a couple of hundred more.”

You sit back and think about this. As soon as you do, the world slowly disappears. Your sleep is dreamless, which is a little odd since you have so many questions and worries about this new world.

As you come awake, Rommy lets you know that two hours have passed. The nurses have cleared you to get up and move around; they are actually encouraging it. You’re excited and swing your legs off the edge of the bed. As you put your weight on them, you can tell that something is different.

“Gravity here is only about 80% of Earth’s. Also, the nanites have pushed your muscles to their peak. If you want to look in a mirror, you’ll see that you are in perfect, peak shape. It’ll take some getting used to, but you are better now.”

The knee pain that you used to feel, that bad ankle and the hitch in your shoulder are all gone. You have a skip in your step that you never thought you’d have again. Maybe when you’re 300, you’ll feel old, but right now, you couldn’t feel better. You walk into the hallway and look at the people of this world for the first time.

“You’re disappointed,” Rommy states.

“Yes, it looks like the hospitals of old. Old white tile, the stench of disinfectant. Nurses with scrubs walking around. Sure, they are all robots and have weird hitches to their steps. But otherwise, it is the same,” you say. The disappointment is dripping from every word. The nurse ignores you and walks around you to check on their patients as their AIs call for attention.

“Just wait. This was made this way. Made to be reassuring and comfortable. Let’s go outside,” Rommy prompts.

As you reach the doors, you hesitate, but Rommy prompts you to continue, reassuring you that it is safe here on Wolf. Your legs get weak and almost buckle at the sights ahead of you. This, this is nothing like Earth. Nothing like you could have ever expected. The sun is bright, so you shield your eyes until they adjust. As you look down at the blue grass at your feet, you feel something shift in your eyes. Suddenly, it’s like you're looking through a pair of sunglasses. With the blaring light out of your eyes, you can see that there are a multitude of insects racing by your feet. They are all fantastic. It's almost like they took the most exotic species on Earth and melded them together. A centipede type flying on bee wings, carrying a small animal in its claws. A ladybug type that burrows quickly like an ant.

So many things are coming at you so quickly that you don’t have time to process them all. You look up and see that the horizon doesn’t seem quite as far off as you’re used to.

“ This planet is a bit smaller than Earth, so it has a smaller horizon.”

As your focus opens up from the sun, you see the purple sky above you. The blue grass, the red sun, the purple sky, you definitely weren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto. Rommy laughs in your head at your antiquated quotes and references. What could you do? You’ve been asleep for 500 years.

“Hey, do we have television or movies here?” you ask Rommy suddenly.

“Well, yes and no. We have entertainment, but it is holograms that are written, produced and starred in by AI. They tell me that it is very realistic, though,” she replies. However, you doubt greatly that it will compare to the creativity of the human mind. You imagine what it could’ve been like if great actors like Sylvester Stallone, Ryan Gosling, Scarlett Johansson and others had been able to live for hundreds of years, continuing to do movies. Rambo 259 First Blood Part Infinity, you think and laugh at yourself. Then jump as Rommy giggles too. That’s going to take a lot of getting used to.

You look at the buildings. They aren’t much. You had expected a thriving city to be built up around you. Yet, these are less than homes and more like huts.

“These are just the huts for the nurses and the hospital. It is out of the way of the city proper. Let’s get on a sunbike and head into the real city,” Rommy suggests.

A sun bike? As you think, a light flickers in your eye. It is blinking on your right side. As you turn, it moves towards the center of your eye. When it is dead center, it turns green and motions you forward. You guess that this is Rommy’s doing. She must be leading you to the sunbike. You walk in awe and follow the blinking green light. At times, it turns red again and has you turn at an intersection. It’s a lot better than Google Maps for sure.

The people here are few and far between, as Rommy stated; they all work at the hospital. As you get to the other side of the small town, you see a few stables and fences. You figure they keep animals here to feed the residents of the hospital.

“No, we don’t eat real meat anymore.” Rommy tells you, “Everything is organic and processed into a meat-like substance, then flavored to imitate certain animals from Earth.”

“Like a Beyond Burger?” you say.

Rommy thinks for a second, probably looking up the old reference. “Yes, basically,” she responds.

“MMMMM, I’m not sure about that. But I’ll do what the natives do,” you respond.

“There are no natives on Wolf. I have already told you that.”

“It’s a figure of speech,” you explain.

You shake your head and keep moving toward the green dot in your vision. Just as you think that you could get used to this world, a real live unicorn steps out from the building in the fence. Its hooves look like they are made from silver. Its fur and mane glow a bright white in the red sun. The horn on its head shines a beautiful gold. You find yourself walking toward the fence and this magnificent creature.

“Whoa!” Rommy yells and slows your movements. How did she do that? “Those are not the Unicorns of your mythos. These fences are electrified to keep you away and them behind. They are carnivorous. They may be pretty, but they are also pretty dangerous.” Rommy laughs at her own wordplay. You roll your eyes and your heart breaks knowing that these creatures cannot be ridden. You think about how cool it would be to ride a unicorn.

You sigh and turn to follow the light. As you do, you come up on a paddock of machines. Sun bikes, I presume, you think of Rommy. She nods in the affirmative. You can feel her nod? Weird. But she leads you to the closest bike. As you look them over, they look more like land speeders from the Empire in Star Wars than anything else you can compare them to. Although that isn’t completely accurate. Rommy tells you that they are called sunbikes because they get their energy from the sun. Nothing else is needed. They are efficient and planet-friendly.

You sit on the bike that Rommy tells you to as she goes over the controls. Oddly, as she speaks to you about the systems, you can see them in your mind and how they operate. After the tutorial is complete, you feel like you have ridden one of these every day of your life. Your nervousness is gone, you start it up and take off like it is all old hat.

“So you said that I had a job,” you say to Rommy as you speed across the foreign landscape, still following the green and red beacons in your eyes.

“Yes, would you like to know what it is?”

“Obviously,” you snark. Ok, you snark now. Did you snark before?

“Well, it is a needed job here. We get most of our nutrients and needed supplies from the world itself, but there are a few things that we need to... go beyond to get,” she explains.

“Beyond?” you ask.

“Yes, beyond the world, beyond the atmosphere, beyond a few of the stars.”

“Are you telling me that I’m an astronaut? I’m going to visit the stars?”

“No. We don’t use those types of ships any longer. Think older. More pirate. Your missions aren’t sanctioned by the government, even though they know we need them. That is why we use people from before. People who knew what pirates used to be,” she slowly explains.

“I’m a pirate? You need to pull us out of cold storage to be pirates? Why can’t the people of now do it?”

“They are too complacent. Too scared and boring, I’d guess you’d say. Out there, it is like...” she’s thinking again. “Like the Wild West. Some work for the betterment of others, others for themselves. We aren’t the only settlement for a few light-years. It has become a veritable community amongst the stars, per se. But we don't all agree, and we all need the same things. So we send ships up to get our supplies,”

“But you need people who know how to fight and scrape the bottom to get things done. Not the loafers that live for 500 years?” You ask rudely.

“Precisely, I knew you’d get it.”

You ponder this as you glide along the ground at breakneck speeds. You had to have covered 30 miles as you spoke to Rommy. You break your revelry to look at the city growing on the horizon. “Welcome to Wolf City,” Rommy states.

You slow as you approach to let it all sink in. It is like a city in all of science fiction. The spaceport with ships coming and going. The tall glass skyscrapers reach to the sky. All of it is clean and serene, despite the randomness of its design. You look in awe as you slowly enter the city and drive to the spaceport. You don’t know that is where you are headed, but it makes sense, and Rommy doesn’t correct you when you think this.

You go through a small tunnel and come out in front of a large, beautiful ship. It’s like an old colonial days sailing ship. It has sails that catch the light to power the engines, Rommy informs you. The boat is made of what looks like wood but is a new alloy altogether. You can see the shields shimmering in the red light of the sun. Andromeda is the name on the side of the ship.

“I guess it was fate that I would be assigned this ship.” You say to no one in particular.

“Not at all. This is your ship. Your imagination brought it to life. It was rendered in your idea of a perfect vessel.”

“Why me, and why this type of ship? This is more like Captain Hook's ship in Peter Pan than a space-worthy vessel. Oh, but she is space-worthy. She has been tested several times by your crew,” Rommy informs you.

“What? My crew. How do I have a crew?” you ask incredulously.

“Well, every captain needs a crew. Now let’s get you aboard and get Andromeda’s maiden voyage underway.”

You stare in shock as the crew lines up along the railings, waiting for you to board. You walk up the gangplank and stand at the edge of the ship. “Do I ask permission?” you ask.

“Never. A captain never has to ask permission to enter their boat. Welcome aboard, Captain. Should we set the main sail?”

You start to tell him that you have no idea, but as you think this, it all floods in. You not only know how to fly this ship, you know how it was built and everything it's capable of and more. You smile at the first mate and wave him on.

“Let's kick the tires and start the fires!” you say to him.

He looks confused at first, but his AI must have translated it for him because he laughs as he gets the other mates in gear and moving to the task. This is going to be an interesting life, you think. Very interesting indeed.