Prologue
663 Words
The Surveyor
The stars look different around every world.
I've spent most of my life proving that.
Some burn blue enough to stain the darkness around them. Others gather in brilliant rivers that stretch farther than the eye can follow. A few shine alone, separated from their nearest neighbors by distances so immense they almost seem lonely.
Yet no matter how many skies I've crossed, I still find myself pausing to look.
Earth's star hangs just beyond my viewport, warm and steady, casting pale gold across the curve of the planet below.
Beautiful.
Far more beautiful than the survey archives ever suggested.
My fingers glide across the holographic controls as the ship completes another orbital pass. Soft tones ripple through the cockpit while the sensor arrays collect millions of observations every second.
"Orbital survey pass twenty-three," I record.
"Atmospheric composition remains stable. Oxygen and nitrogen concentrations remain within projected parameters."
Another series of tones answers.
A three-dimensional image blossoms above the console.
Forests.
Mountain ranges.
Rivers.
Oceans.
Life.
An extraordinary amount of life.
I can't help smiling.
"The resilience of Sol-3 continues to exceed post-collapse projections."
I enlarge a region where the sensors have highlighted unusually dense vegetation.
Species begin scrolling faster than I can comfortably read them.
Oak.
Pine.
Cottonwood.
White-tailed deer.
Wild turkey.
Coyotes.
Black bear.
Thousands of insects.
Hundreds of birds.
Another notification catches my attention.
Pollinator density exceeding expectations.
Now that...
...is interesting.
I open the report.
Native bee populations have rebounded dramatically over the last three decades.
Excellent.
Healthy pollinators mean healthy ecosystems.
Healthy ecosystems mean hope.
I tag the report for the fleet's ecological archives before beginning another scan.
This one searches for human activity.
The settlements are almost exactly what our long-range observations predicted.
Small.
Scattered.
Temporary.
Most appear to live season to season.
Few seem capable of sustaining themselves for generations.
Then another tone sounds.
Different.
Curious rather than urgent.
Ecological anomaly detected.
I frown.
"Display."
The image narrows toward a heavily forested region the human archives identify as North America.
Texas.
At first, I don't understand why the system flagged it.
Then the analysis finishes.
I lean closer.
"...Magnify."
The landscape expands until individual structures become visible.
A river winds naturally through dense woodland before splitting into carefully engineered channels.
Waterwheels.
Reservoirs.
Solar arrays.
Greenhouses.
Orchards.
Bee apiaries.
Livestock pastures.
Crop fields rotating in carefully planned patterns.
The computer continues evaluating.
Artificial ecosystem stability: 98.7%
Renewable energy independence confirmed.
Long-term sustainability probability: Exceptional.
For several moments, I simply stare.
Someone built this.
Not by conquering the land.
By understanding it.
They redirected water without destroying the river.
They planted orchards beside native forest instead of replacing it.
Every system supports another.
Waste from one becomes life for the next.
It's...
Remarkable.
Without realizing it, I'm smiling again.
I create a priority marker.
Recommend detailed ecological survey.
Whatever this place is, it deserves far more than a passing observation.
A sharper tone cuts through the cockpit.
The smile fades.
That isn't a research alert.
It's navigation.
I glance toward the tactical display.
A warning icon flashes amber.
Unknown object detected.
My brow furrows.
"That shouldn't..."
The words never leave my mouth.
The object isn't powered.
It tumbles silently through space.
Ancient.
Cold.
Nearly invisible against the stars until my sensors enhance the image.
Faded solar panels.
A fractured communications array.
Human.
One of their old satellites.
It has drifted through orbit for decades.
Until now.
The computer projects its path.
A line of red cuts directly through my own.
Collision probability: 94.8%
I reach for the controls.
Thrusters fire.
The survey craft rolls hard.
Not fast enough.
The impact hits with impossible violence.
Metal screams.
The cockpit erupts in sparks.
The ship bucks beneath me.
Every display flashes crimson.
Hull breach.
Primary flight systems offline.
Navigation failure.
Structural integrity compromised.
Earth fills the viewport.
Too fast.
Far too fast.
The ship is already breaking apart.
There isn't enough time.
I release the controls and run.
- Writer
