The Experiment (2 page)

The Capital only contains approximately 12.8 million people; the other 2 billion are forced to live much harsher and shorter lives, spending most of their time indoors or underground to avoid contamination from the radiation.

It’s gotten to the point where any above ground water sources are unsafe, the wildlife is dying off at an alarming rate, and the plant life is disappearing along with it.

The government and the ACI did the best they could to aid the surrounding cities. They would send food, clean water, medical supplies and anything else they
needed. But it wasn’t enough…

The existence of the protective field inevitably led many of the outside cities to denounce affiliation with our government. They secretly joined forces in order to overthrow the Capital and seize the technology for themselves. The attacks lasted for weeks at a time and eventually the Capital’s military began to be overrun.

After much debate, the ACI’s private military was forced to get involved…It only ended in mass death and even more suffering…

Once the ACI’s military joined with the Capital, it gave them a huge technological advantage and the invasions were a complete failure. The ACI continued to promise they were searching for more of the element but the people were hesitant to believe they were telling the truth. The threat of them attacking the city again still exists to this day…

Shortly after the fighting ceased, top minds at the ACI had discovered a way to create a crystalized powder that they could combine with the atmosphere. The substance would supposedly restore the protection from our stars radiation and slightly speed up the healing process.

The only predicament was the main mineral needed to produce this substance had been almost totally depleted during our technological evolution. Chrysos, was used in almost all technology as a conductor, but
most importantly, applied to space travel in order to shield people and equipment from radiation.

The ACI made a public announcement, vowing to send out every ship they had in the attempts to find the mineral, chrysos, and help the rest of Aeris. The plan stopped the threat of attacks, but tension has long been building, as over the last six years the missions haven’t produced a single piece of chrysos.

Due to the outside cities totally separating themselves from The Capital, they are experiencing widespread poverty and famine. This has led to small resistance groups forming that constantly attack The Capital to steal food and supplies.

In recent times they have even tried to sabotage the power station energizing the protective field out of spite. They refused to believe that it would eventually cease to function or that the ACI was using all of its resources to try and help them.

The Capital and The ACI constantly offer to send aid as they did in the past, but it’s always turned down. The government even sponsored the building of public housing for millions of people and formed a lottery so everyone would have an equal chance to move to the Capital.

Unfortunately, it was mainly met with protest and most of the housing still remains empty to this day.

The outside peoples have actually developed an intense hatred of the Capital and everyone in it. They
still believe they’re being deceived, and the only reason they don’t have protective fields is because the Capital is home to the most important and influential people on Aeris…

I don’t blame them for thinking the way they do. If I were out there trying to survive while watching the Capital flourish, I’d probably start to believe the same things… There were times where even I wondered if some type of deception was taking place…

Everything changed about two years ago when an unmanned, exploratory vessel returned from its twenty year mission. While it contained a mass of information, and promising data on many new planets, one in particular stood out.

The ACI’s scientists believed the data suggested it had almost the exact same conditions as Aeris. And they claimed that if it even had a fraction of the chrysos Aeris originally had, a mining operation would be a complete success.

The ACI immediately began training a massive off-word mining team and preparing for the estimated fourteen year mission. The Sirius 7 would take approximately five years to reach the planet designated X-451, and they estimated the mining process to take at least four. The amount of chrysos needed was immense; close to 7,000 tons…

My name is Atlas Simon. At the age of 24 I joined the ACI military academy in order to take part in
healing our world. When they announced the plan to fix the atmosphere and the possible 14 year mission, I immediately felt the need to sign up.

The training at the academy lasted for almost a year and was intensely serious. We all had to be in peak physical condition and health. In fact, anyone who tested positive for the possibility of future genetic ailments could not qualify for the ACI. They were extremely strict and selective.

While most people seemed to be afraid, I couldn’t help but like the idea of spending years in space and the mission I’d be a part of. I didn’t at all understand how the plan would work, but from the suffering I’d seen, I knew it was something worth risking my life for.

It was the opportunity to finally help the rest of the people on Aeris. To show them that we weren’t lying. That the ACI was feverishly working to come up with a solution. Not only because the field over the Capital would cease to function soon, but because they genuinely cared.

Sadly, it seems as though many people in The Capital have forgotten what’s going on outside the protective field. To some, those on the outside have turned into members of an opposing side rather than victims.

Many citizens of The Capital think of it more as a way to prevent further attacks instead of focusing on
the fact that we have the ability to help billions of people. They aren’t directly affected, so it seems they don’t understand the harsh reality of the situation… They aren’t the ones getting sick, having to hide indoors, live underground in the darkness, and knowingly eat contaminated food that will shorten their lives…

All those nights I watched the transport ships taking people up to the Aurora Station, I would always try to picture what it would be like to look down on Aeris from so far away. To imagine all the wonders and beauty the universe had to offer… Soon I would know…

Growing up in The Capital had lost its excitement long ago. My parents had recently passed away and I found myself without purpose.

My life was admittedly easy. When my parents died, I inherited their house, there for I only had to work part time to support myself. I was never able to pursue higher education so for years I had jobs in factories, doing manual labor, and even being a delivery driver.

I never had the ability to stay in one place for long… I always found the need for change. Though recently, I’d discovered what I really wanted was something more out of life.

I had always known the importance of the Sirius missions but had never given much thought to being
involved... Life in general had just gotten in the way and made the very idea seem like a fantasy.

Then one day I found out my neighbor (who wasn’t particularly bright) had signed up for the military in order to take part in the mission to X-451. It made me realize I could leave my empty, boring life behind and do something meaningful. That I could realize the dreams that I’ve had since I was a child.

And right now, the Sirius missions are more important than ever before…

I wasn’t exactly the “military type” but it was one of the few ways for someone like me to become a part of the ACI. Generally, only children from very wealthy families were able to attend the science academy and prepare for a career with the ACI. Every now and then you’d hear of a child with exceptionally high intelligence scores being given free admission, but it was extremely rare.

My parents had been well off enough to acquire a home in the Capital and give me a wonderful life, but the science academy was far from their reach.

Long ago the ACI had decided to create its own military force, specially trained for “off-word” affairs. They would be the first ones sent down to any foreign planet to make sure it was safe for the science, archaeology, mining teams, and political representatives. It opened the door for people like me to become a part of the Sirius missions.

They were also trained in the ways of diplomacy, as they would be the first to contact any other species encountered. Due to my personality profile and performance record at the academy, I was specifically assigned to be a first encounter specialist.

My job was basically to befriend any potential new allies and represent the Aeris government in a peaceful and intelligent fashion. Once a safe environment had been confirmed, others with more qualifications and knowledge would be sent to take over.

In a way it was like being a food tester for rulers in ancient times… it could get you killed… To me, it just sounded interesting and exciting.

I don’t actually expect to encounter any intelligent life. Simply due to the fact that the Sirius missions have been taking place for decades and none has been found to date. And if we don’t, people like me will be reassigned to the mining operations in order increase production and get us all home at an even sooner date.

I do believe it will eventually happen, just in the distant future. I have always thought about the question of intelligent life in the universe as a very simple one. I say, if we exist here on Aeris, it would have to be crazy to think intelligent life couldn’t form on other planets as well…

I have no family, and no ties to this world. I was the
perfect candidate for a life of searching for something that may never be found. People like me would most likely just help lay the foundation that will enable the future generations to answer all of life’s most important questions.

I was fine with that… At least my life would mean something. I would be involved in helping billions of people, preventing more war, and furthering our knowledge of the universe. There was no doubt it my mind that I was doing the right thing…

As I put on my official ACI uniform for the first time I could feel myself change. It was a strong, deep blue, lined with silver accents and red cuffs, embellished by a small, simplistic depiction of our solar system above the lettering “ACI” on the chest.

When I walked over to the mirror and saw my reflection, the reality of everything that was about to happen came washing over me. I knew that my life was going to change forever, and that once I got on the ship headed to the Aurora, there’d be no going back.

Chapter 2

W
hen I arrived at the ACI launch facility, it was ablaze with life. It was easy to tell they were preparing for our mission. Every few minutes transport ships were taking off for The Aurora, armies of supply trucks were passing by, and it was obvious that everyone was in a big rush.

I was already ecstatic (and somewhat nervous) about going into space for the first time, and the atmosphere of the facility only added to what I was already feeling. I couldn’t wait to head up to the Aurora and be able look down on Aeris for the first time. I had always heard the sight of it will change your life forever…

Someone once told me – “It would make you realize your insignificant place in what we have deemed the universe.”

I walked for what seemed like forever. Every aspect of the facility was larger and more complex than I had ever imagined. I could truly feel that I was somewhere important. The impressiveness of the whole operation instantly put me at ease; these people definitely knew what they were doing.

Any trepidation I may have had vanished and was immediately replaced with the same excitement and curiosity I felt in my youth while looking up at the night sky, wondering what might be out there…

As I approached the launch section I came upon an
ocean of people.

Announcements were coming from all different directions – “Science division gate 1, engineering gate 2, health division gate 3, ACI officers and flight crew gate 4, All military personnel gate 5, mining operations gate 6, general maintenance gate 7.”

I made my way over to the military loading gate and looked for familiar faces. I had made a few friends at the academy who felt the same way I did about this mission. I was hoping to see at least one or two of them here.

After a few moments of searching, I spotted my friend, Kayin. He had trained alongside me as a military technician, so I could only assume he’d be responsible for equipment operations and repairs on the ship and in the field.

I snuck up behind him and slapped him on the back, just hard enough to hurt a little and make a loud noise.

“Tighten up soldier!”

He jumped and turned around.

When he saw me his eyes lit up and he starting laughing, then he said “I was wondering when you’d show up… Thought maybe you got cold feet.”

We shook hands and I replied “No way… Plus I have to watch your back so you don’t do anything stupid.”

We both laughed.

Kayin and I were the same age; we even joined the
academy the same month. In reality, he was bigger, stronger, faster, and even smarter than I was… If anything I needed him to look out for me.

He always got near perfect scores in marksmanship and was a technical genius. Unfortunately we probably wouldn’t see too much of each other once the mission started. He’d be performing maintenance and responding to any mechanical malfunctions that might take place during the mining process.

In reality, he was probably one of the most important people on the ship…

We stood around and talked about our time at the academy for a while, laughing it up as we always have.

I eventually changed the subject and said “So do you think X-451 will have intelligent life?”

He laughed and replied “I don’t know, seems like there’s a pretty good chance… I guess we should hope there isn’t any… If it’s home to another civilization like us they might not want us to mine all of their chrysos.”

He made a good point…

Seconds later, a man came over and made an announcement.