Planet Expo: Origins [Book One]

 [A.K.A. WELCOME TO THE PROLOGUE]     Okay, so, I’m going to over-simplify many things within this story arc. More will be explained as the story unravels, but for now, this is all you have to know:     Planet Expo. AKA Experimental Planet. AKA Planet Experiment. This planet goes by many names; the most popular ones are listed above. The name of the planetoid itself is of little importance. However, the origins of the Planet Expo are of great importance.      On May 2, 2072, a spacecraft named Navigatoria launched 700 light-years away from Earth, and into the vast universe. This occurred due to the reconnaissance mission that was assigned to the Navigatoria, and its astronauts, in the hopes of finding a planet that is habitable for humans and other living things. This mission was conducted by SEA, which is an abbreviation for the Space Exploration Administration. The Navigatoria was supposedly the most advanced spacecraft that was specially created for this mission since the people of Earth were in desperate need of a new planet to live on since Earth began dying. In all honesty, it was totally our fault. The majority of people didn’t properly take care of the Earth, and so the planet began to decay and die. So good job, guys. (Note the sarcasm).     So, to prevent the extinction of the human race, the astronauts on board of the Navigatoria eventually found Planet E-1280 in the very late summer days of September 2072. Alya Hudson-Archer, James W. Marco, Brad Hudson, Angela S. Vasco, and Henry Archer were stationed there for a whole year to establish a base camp so others could soon start a civilization on Planet E-1280.      Later on, it was officially renamed by SEA into Planet Exponentiation or Planet Expo for short. According to SEA, the reason for this name was because it was the mission statement of the Navigatoria to find a planet and establish a colony on it for others to live on as a substitute for Earth. This was our chance to start anew and take better care of the planet's health. To give Earth a chance to heal and to live on this planet until Earth was stable. To make our diverse Earthen civilizations even greater by actually caring about the environment. The official name based on a suggestion made by Henry Archer. I guess you can say his concept of the name was the inspiration for the finalized version.     But what brought about this mission? Well, besides the apparent threat of a dying Earth, research organizations that focused its studies on Earth and space discovered that the Earth would be completely healed of our destruction and pollution within a century if all humans were to leave Earth. Therefore it became the SEA’s misión and creation of the Navigatoria to find another planet that was suitable for all living things. Six years after the discovery of the solution of Earth healing, if humans left, SEA finally found a world ideal for all our needs. Planet-1280 was Earth’s savior.      Even before SEA discovered Planet Expo, they were already developing and mass providing the technology that we needed to survive on this new planet.      Because of all that, it became widely broadcasted that the stay on Planet-1280 was strictly temporary and should last no more than a 100 years plus the year and a half travel time to get to Planet-1280. However, the public began to interpret “temporary” as in no more than a few years, although the news and other media networks continued to try to convince the public otherwise. As a result, when it came time to register and make the payments to leave on the Evacueen, which was the spacecraft that would take everyone to Planet Expo, everyone held onto the false hope that they would soon return to their homes.      At least they were prepared. So on February 9, 2078, they brought everything with them to SEA’s launch/boarding site. And I mean everything. All their belongings, even a week's worth of food and Heat-ware, which are special dishware that can heat the food that’s it holds. The crews of the Evacueens were just glad they didn’t bring their huge food storages. Yeah, you heard me right. Evacueens. As in a spacecraft fleet that brought humanity and other living things to Planet Expo. The separate living things are plants, animals, and stuff, including bugs too. We brought the essentials of Earth’s ecosystem to farm, be self-sufficient, and all that good stuff. We tried to mirror Earth onto Planet Expo.      I suppose that’s one way of getting over homesickness. Not sure how healthy that would be. Whatever works best for the majority, I guess. After all, they’re the ones who get their voices heard all the time. Unlike me, who is shy and reserved, or so I’m told. I just don’t bother with human interaction—too much drama.      I’m still surprised I have the friends I do today. They’re honestly the best. It amazes me how they are great friends and are fantastic people. Unlike other people who didn’t like me enough to stick around. That’s how it is, I guess. You win and lose some friends along your life's journey. However, what my friends and I are about to do is a little more than a life journey.      Anyways, I’m going off-topic. You probably don’t want to hear about my boring personal life right at the start. But you may be wondering how I know so much about the origins of Planet Expo. Well, to satisfy your curiosity, I am the living descendent of Henry Archer. And in case you already forgot who he was, Henry Archer was one of the astronauts onboard the Navigatoria.     That’s right. My family and I got the inside scoop on what went on to make this mission a success. We know all, or at least we think we know all of the stories and things that happened to make the Planet Expo settlement thrive. We know some personal stories about the other astronauts since my great-grandfather was close friends with them. According to them, they all knew each other since high school but started becoming an even more intimate friend group when they went to college. Luckily for them, their colleges were localized, meaning it was in the same city, which was infamous for being the city that never sleeps.      Even after college and their critical year-long mission to establish a base camp, they still managed to maintain their sibling-like bonds. Of course, like siblings, they often had petty arguments and fights over dangerous (or sometimes not-so-serious) things, but they never let that affect their love for each other.     That always fascinated me how you can get a bunch of high schooled friends to make this rowdy adult friend group that was able to handle anything that came their way. Growing up, hearing these stories passed down from my great-great-grandpa down to my dad influenced my expectations and set high hopes for what I thought my friends in high school and college would be like.      As previously mentioned, I don’t bother with human interaction. Friendships in my generation are nothing like the friendships of my great-great-grandparents. Compared to my family’s stories, I can confidently confirm that it is not that difficult to make a friend. It is as simple as walking up to someone and asking, “can we be friends?” Crazy, I know. But that’s how I made friends when I attended elementary school. I still talk to only one great friend of mine from elementary school; his name is James William Johnson. But we can discuss more him later. The others I’ve lost contact with as they moved away or just fizzled out of my life. Not that I’m complaining about that. If they were real friends, they would have figured out a way to stay friends with me.      The only one that I really relied upon and trusted, before James that is, was my twin brother Nathaniel, or Nate for short. Nate and I were closer and more best friend-like than most siblings. Our mom says it’s because we’re twins and that we grew up with each other always being around. I guess that’s true since it makes sense. Although, we do have our days where we fight over silly sibling stuff and have little teasing fights. But we never take our struggles seriously unless it begins over something super serious.      Yet, I digress, back to the founding parents of Planet Expo. For now, most of what you need to know has already mentioned. So, if you already forgot what you read, then go back and reread my ramblings. Also, you might as well highlight some stuff while you’re at it, so you have some information to refer to. Oh, and if you are the note-taking type, then here, I’ll leave the following blank space for you. And if you don't like taking notes, then draw something. What’s that? Can’t find anything to draw? Then draw me! Or at least draw how you think I look like.      Are you done with your notes yet? Yes, you are? Fantastic! And if you drew something, I wonder how it turned out. Did you make me beautiful? I hope you didn’t draw me like a French girl because I’m not French. Anyways, let’s begin with my story. But before we do, make yourself comfy and maybe get a few snacks and sodas or whatever. This story will take a while, and you’ll end up slightly regretting reading this journal.