The Unexpected Help
Written by Shade Odagwe
Location: Earth, Year 3158
We were warned to stay away from the unknown, to not go so far, but like moths to a
flame, we continued our path. When they came, it was not from the stars, but from the
oceans and the ground. Turbulent waves that went on for years and destroyed
everything in its path. Fires that spread around with no end it sight. We hid, until there
was no place left to hide. From our hideouts, we could taste the salt and smell the
smoke, as our people drowned and burned. We could hear their agonizing screams, but
to leave, would be to lose ourselves. Suddenly, a haunting silence. It had ended but
with no where left to go, we turned our hope to the skies. Waiting for a semblance of
relief, hoping that somewhere out there, someone had heard our cries for help.
Location: Earth, Year 3209
Our survivors started to rebuild slowly. With our world in a constant state of flames and
waves, we looked to the nature of before for a solution. Adapting from the remnants of
our once-thriving environment, we began to study the resilience of the very elements
that had nearly destroyed us. We learned to sustain ourselves with the little we had,
allowing us to adapt to the aftermath of the seas and the strain of the burning blaze. The
charred remains of forests became our classrooms, teaching us about regeneration and
the cycles of life. We observed how the ocean, despite its fury, also nurtured life in its
depths. From the ashes of our past, we sought to cultivate a new understanding of
coexistence with nature. We looked towards becoming part of our new ecosystem
rather than separating ourselves. We learned from the Geogemma barossii, a resilient
extremophile that thrived in the harshest conditions, demonstrating that life could
flourish even in adversity [1]. We integrated the growth factors of Geogemma barossii
into our new ecosystem to create a new balance that ensured that life could thrive under
these new circumstances. We created a new substance integrated with Geogemma
barossii. This became the foundation of our structures and integrated to sustain the
balance of delicate new ecosystem. In this new chapter of our existence, we found
strength in our vulnerability. The scars of our past served as reminders of what we had
endured, but they also illuminated the path forward. Together, we forged a future that
was not merely about survival, but about thriving in a world reborn from the ashes of
despair.
Location: Deep Space
Alarms sounded for the first time on outpost 17 as Major Lucille walked in the room.
Cadets rushed to their stations working to locate the source of the alarm. The lost
colony had finally been found. They would depart to the location immediately, Earth.
Location: Earth, Year 3259
Upon her arrival at the lost colony, Major Lucille was hit with a piercing smell of salt and
smoke. The world seemed to be in a perpetual state of light provided by a constant
blaze. The waves and the blaze seem to coexist with no end in sight, but it seemed that
there were survivors.
References:
[1] Kashefi, Kazem; Lovley, Derek R. (2003). "Extending the upper temperature limit for
life". Science. 301 (5635): 934. doi:10.1126/science.1086823. PMID 12920290. S2CID
21189391
