The Ark of Regrets

The holo-banner above my bed wrote 4PEM, Past Earth Meridiem. I crawled out of the bunk. I dressed myself in the white and grey uniforms for the crew on the Ark. The Ark is a ship designed and built by a company called Gutemaya. It was made to colonize Trappist-1 e and preserve our species.

Life on a colonial ship fleeing Earth isn’t so bad. Every year we rotate between sets of crew members who secure the ship and keep it operational. This ensures that we all don't collectively go insane or use too many resources awake.

Of course, it would have been simpler if Earth’s atmosphere hadn’t been stripped away and the ground wasn’t drenched in radiation. Or if the water hadn’t boiled away. Or if the volcanoes wouldn’t stop spewing out toxic amounts of carbon dioxide.

I walked down the hall from the living quarters for the awoken members of the crew. On one side of the white, contoured walls displayed the status of everyone else in cryo. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

On the other side of the wall was a window showcasing the vast emptiness of space. Stars dotted the black abyss as if they were distancing themselves from us. As though they watched our Earth, a one in a sixty-billionth of a chance, became stripped of its glory. As though they watched as our oceans drowned in mountains of garbage. And as the sky was torn apart by our innovations. Or as we razed the ground in the name of “justice”. Perhaps, one of those stars is the light of our original Sol system. Weeping at the state we left the Earth in.

Entering the canteen, I spotted the two others who would be with me on this year long shift. On one side of the beautifully crafted table sat a peppy girl named Aliyah,

“Morning!”

On the other end is a rough looking man named George,

“Does it count as morning? We woke up six hours ago.”

“He probably just woke up so its morning for him, right?”

“Yeah, I did just wake up. How are things running?”

“Nothing has changed since the last time we were on duty together.”

“Great. Whats on today’s menu?”

I walked over to the dispensary. A vending machine installed into the wall that delivers food made by preparation robots. We nicknamed these robots prepR.

“Is that rhetorical? Same as always.” Chuckled George.

“Nutrients.” We said in unison.

Nutrients is the staple meal of our generation. It contained everything a human body needs to live. The taste of Nutrients is something far from desired since it was designed to feed thousands. It wasn’t always Nutrients; on certain holidays or occasions we could opt in to receive some nicer tasting meals. Working would also earn us points that we could cash in to request custom meals from the prepR made to taste like actual food.

“So, its going to be another mundane year?” Asked George.

“What do you mean? We’ve got some tabletop games to play!”

In the abyss of space there was one saving grace for us, tabletop games. Gutemaya decided to prohibit video games because they were deemed "too immersive". Luckily creativity wasn't something that couldn't be restricted.

“You want to be the dungeon master this time Aliyah?”

“You did it last time George and I’ve got a few ideas. I’d be glad to DM for you guys this time. I should have some things planned somewhere in my files.” Aliyah had a devilish grin across her face. No doubt she’s planning our demise as the game master.

We passed the hours by as we character creation began and watched old films at the theatre. Aliyah and George went to bed hours before me. I spent the last of my waking hours doing final checkups. There was nothing in space for me to worry about besides being alone. The fuel and energy levels were green for now. After doing the rounds, I prepared myself for sleep. Then crawled into my bunk and rested my eyes.

Tens of human bodies shuffled forward in a line. We were being processed for criminal records and bounties as we waited for dinner. Each one of us watched with voracious hunger as the lunch lady drooped slop onto the trays ahead of us. Sounds of protest echoed through the halls of the cafeteria as we waited.

After slurping up the slop I walked back home. Mechanical howling echoed behind the walls of the corridor. The dim red lights flickered with each groan of the Earth. A holo-banner displayed news of tectonic plate movement. There was also an article about the evacuation of a layer block. It seemed like an earthquake caused part of the bunker to split. This exposed it to cosmic radiation and freezing winds. It’s estimated that seventy people died in that disaster. A list of victims scrolled up, on it displayed my parents names.

“Hey, wake up!” Aliyah’s hand whapped my forehead.

In my groggy state I could only respond with a slurred, “Whuh?”

“We’re gonna finish your characters and start the game.”

“M’kay.” I mumbled as I crawled out of bed to play a tabletop game with George and Aliyah.

We met up in the canteen where Aliyah had set up several screens for the game. Hours passed as George and I became invested into Aliyah's game. We ended the game exhausted and made our way to bed after dinner.

“Hey, do you think we’ll make it?” George asked from his bed. He scratched a long scar across his arm.

“To Trappist-1 e?” I replied.

“Yeah.”

“Do you really want to know what I think?”

“Yes.”

Silence stood between us. I didn’t know if he believed my lie. I didn’t know how I would answer if he asked me to convince him. I just wanted to preserve his hope.

There is nothing left on Earth to go back to. It was just a dying rock with the last remnants of our species and plant life. Many of us neglected to care about the dwindling state of the world. The writing was on the walls, but we chose to ignore them. As a result, humanity migrated underground or underwater. Without the protection of the sky we had nowhere to go. The Earth wanted vengeance against us. It used its plates to crack our bunkers bit by bit. Exposing fragile human bodies to terrifying deaths.

The Ark was Gutemaya’s last resort. A desire to preserve themselves and our species. The journey estimated to be six trillion years long. A number that the human mind couldn't comprehend. That fact didn't stop them though. Despite the odds Gutemaya engineered and launched the Ark. They didn't believe in our journey, they wanted to believe in our survival.

If there is one regret we have as a species. It is taking our only home for granted. Only when past the point of no return did reality settle in. The fact that our planet was dying and there'd be no way to restore it. I'm sure if all of us could go back in time, we'd make every effort to preserve the Earth. We would work to ensure a future like ours is prevented.