A Resource of Unlimited Opportunity
By J.F. Slade
It’s difficult to describe how much I miss you. Today was a rough day: Nahid can’t keep anything down and I’m struggling to maintain any sanity while trapped in this metal box. I don’t know how people once thought we would travel to Mars like this. Var is distant enough.
Ever since Var appeared in orbit, it sent the scientific community along with the rest of the world into a panic. Where did it come from? How did it get here? Moving at the same velocity, the danger of a collision with Earth was minimal, and humanity quickly shifted its focus to colonization. Var was roughly the same size and mass, but with so much more potential. This is what captivated the population and me.
I was a small child when Var first appeared, so small that its sudden appearance was noteworthy, but the gravity did not fully equate. To me, Var was a fantasy. As each news headline appeared about the planet, I would lose myself in the dream of it. A place with blue skies and fresh air, surrounded by greenery, away from the domes and respirators life on Earth commanded. The day the lottery opened, I submitted my name, but they never called.
I became obsessed with finding a way to that planet. I was done with the artificial cage and craved a new beginning. It took 16 years, but it was finally becoming a reality. The lottery didn't pick me, but they did choose Nahid. He was my ticket onto the latest colony ship. Var would finally be my home.
Loss did temper my excitement. I had left someone behind, someone far more important than Nahid could ever be. Radio transmissions were comforting but hardly equated a face-to-face conversation. During the three-month voyage, each day passed more slowly than the one before, as we waited to arrive on the planet from nowhere: the answer to everything.
"Is it worth it?" Nahid asked on the last day of our journey.
“How can you ask that now? We are so close.”
He leaned back against the wall of the small ship bathroom and stared at me, his wife.
“You know that’s not what I mean.”
There were so many things about his face that I didn’t yet know or understand. I wondered if I ever would. With Ramon, it had always been so easy. We understood each other with elegant ease, but with Nahid, there was a wall of incompatibility.
“Try to get some rest. We will be breathing fresh air tomorrow, staring at a blue sky. That’s worth it to me.”
Of course, sleep did not come easily. I tossed and turned with extreme persistence, my nerves and anticipation wreaking havoc on my brain. I had given up everything for this, and I was so ready to step off the ship and join the new colony.
When I did finally sleep, it was Ramon who haunted my dreams, back home on Earth waiting for his ticket, knowing that he may never join me.
I was a small child when Var first appeared, so small that its sudden appearance was noteworthy, but the gravity did not fully equate. To me, Var was a fantasy. As each news headline appeared about the planet, I would lose myself in the dream of it. A place with blue skies and fresh air, surrounded by greenery, away from the domes and respirators life on Earth commanded. The day the lottery opened, I submitted my name, but they never called.
I became obsessed with finding a way to that planet. I was done with the artificial cage and craved a new beginning. It took 16 years, but it was finally becoming a reality. The lottery didn't pick me, but they did choose Nahid. He was my ticket onto the latest colony ship. Var would finally be my home.
Loss did temper my excitement. I had left someone behind, someone far more important than Nahid could ever be. Radio transmissions were comforting but hardly equated a face-to-face conversation. During the three-month voyage, each day passed more slowly than the one before, as we waited to arrive on the planet from nowhere: the answer to everything.
"Is it worth it?" Nahid asked on the last day of our journey.
“How can you ask that now? We are so close.”
He leaned back against the wall of the small ship bathroom and stared at me, his wife.
“You know that’s not what I mean.”
There were so many things about his face that I didn’t yet know or understand. I wondered if I ever would. With Ramon, it had always been so easy. We understood each other with elegant ease, but with Nahid, there was a wall of incompatibility.
“Try to get some rest. We will be breathing fresh air tomorrow, staring at a blue sky. That’s worth it to me.”
Of course, sleep did not come easily. I tossed and turned with extreme persistence, my nerves and anticipation wreaking havoc on my brain. I had given up everything for this, and I was so ready to step off the ship and join the new colony.
When I did finally sleep, it was Ramon who haunted my dreams, back home on Earth waiting for his ticket, knowing that he may never join me.
Ship landings were impressive feats. A metal box full of a hundred people had to enter orbit and slow down before settling on a grassy plain. I looked over to Nahid, trying to read his face, but he was as stoic as always. How did I attach myself to someone so utterly devoid of emotion? He wasn't a bad guy. He was just… medium. How he got selected for the lottery and not me was a very frustrating question.
The seatbelt bore into my skin as the ship hit the ground. I felt my spine compress before stretching back harshly. It was painful and uncomfortable, but I didn't care. I was jumping out of my skin, waiting for the bay doors to open. They couldn't turn that dial quickly enough.
Then the door slid open, and for the first time, I saw a clear sky with the sound of small animals and wind in the distance.
At that moment, I forgot everyone else, all reason. I unclicked my seatbelt and rushed outside, leaving my companions, and Nahid, behind me. I was there, really there in this beautiful wonder. It was everything everyone had ever said it was. The sky! The trees! Green grace surrounded my feet, and insects flew from plant to plant. Up above, I could see birds so similar to the ones from the books back home. This planet was exactly how Earth used to be. How could it exist?
Of course, I failed to notice that only I had exited the ship. The rest of the passengers and crew remained on board, unable to leave their seats. I didn’t see them gasping for air, struggling to process the clean atmosphere of the untouched planet.
It was the faceless shapes that finally caught my eye. They were humanlike in their structure but without specific form. They emerged from the woods in masses, pulling me from my delighted trance. At first, I thought they were coming for me, but soon I realized they were heading straight for the ship. It was only then that I turned to see my companions, immobile in their seats.
I considered running away or even staying perfectly still, but I was hardly one for moderation. I followed the shapes to the ship. It was then that I could see my fellow passengers' faces. They were dead, all of them. Only I had survived.
The creatures moved towards the bodies and extended arm-like structures to each of them. I thought for a moment they would save them, but my hopes quickly faded. These shapes were taking their forms, their likenesses. They were stealing them.
I didn’t know my husband well, but the man who walked up to me was definitely not Nahid. He wore his face with a sickly smile that was far too calm for the atrocity that had just taken place.
“Hello, Cynthia.”
“Who are you? What is this?”
"An accident," he answered, and for just a moment, I saw a glimmer of sadness in his eyes. "Can I escort you to the colony?"
I stared at the bodies on the ship. Three months ago, they all were strangers to me, and I hadn't tried to get to know them. Shame consumed me. These were better people than me.
But I wasn't one to wallow in self-pity. I looked back at the new Nahid and nodded before following him into the woods. I was alive, and I certainly wasn't going to survive all alone.
We made our path along a small river. Large pine trees backed up to the edge of it, and shrubs and wildflowers scattered along the ground. The terrain was complicated and patternless, far different than the flat concrete surfaces my feet were accustomed to. The air was fresh and crisp, with a flavor I couldn't identify. It was clean and perfect. How could they die from it?
The settlement was in another clearing, and it looked just like the pictures I would watch on the feeds back home. So many people were moving about, smiling and laughing as they worked. They seemed happy.
“They aren’t real, are they?”
Nahid looked at me. “Am I not real?”
"You're not Nahid. You're something else, and so are they."
He nodded. "Most are like me, but some are like you. We brought this place here for you, but when the first ship landed, all but one perished… withdrawals from your poisonous air. We didn't want him to be alone."
"So, you decided to play pretend?"
"As more ships came, the same kept happening. Only a few survived, but we've found they forget over time. You will too."
I shook my head; I wasn't about to forget. "But you're not them. You're not those people."
"We have their memories, and we choose to lead their lives. Are people not the sum of their memories? I know all Nahid once knew. I remember everything and everyone, including you."
"That can't be good." The words slipped out before I could stop them, but to my surprise, this new Nahid laughed. It was disarming, but not-unwelcome. I didn't know who he was or what he was, but I could see Nahid in him.
“Come with me, Cynthia. Let me show you your new home.”
The seatbelt bore into my skin as the ship hit the ground. I felt my spine compress before stretching back harshly. It was painful and uncomfortable, but I didn't care. I was jumping out of my skin, waiting for the bay doors to open. They couldn't turn that dial quickly enough.
Then the door slid open, and for the first time, I saw a clear sky with the sound of small animals and wind in the distance.
At that moment, I forgot everyone else, all reason. I unclicked my seatbelt and rushed outside, leaving my companions, and Nahid, behind me. I was there, really there in this beautiful wonder. It was everything everyone had ever said it was. The sky! The trees! Green grace surrounded my feet, and insects flew from plant to plant. Up above, I could see birds so similar to the ones from the books back home. This planet was exactly how Earth used to be. How could it exist?
Of course, I failed to notice that only I had exited the ship. The rest of the passengers and crew remained on board, unable to leave their seats. I didn’t see them gasping for air, struggling to process the clean atmosphere of the untouched planet.
It was the faceless shapes that finally caught my eye. They were humanlike in their structure but without specific form. They emerged from the woods in masses, pulling me from my delighted trance. At first, I thought they were coming for me, but soon I realized they were heading straight for the ship. It was only then that I turned to see my companions, immobile in their seats.
I considered running away or even staying perfectly still, but I was hardly one for moderation. I followed the shapes to the ship. It was then that I could see my fellow passengers' faces. They were dead, all of them. Only I had survived.
The creatures moved towards the bodies and extended arm-like structures to each of them. I thought for a moment they would save them, but my hopes quickly faded. These shapes were taking their forms, their likenesses. They were stealing them.
I didn’t know my husband well, but the man who walked up to me was definitely not Nahid. He wore his face with a sickly smile that was far too calm for the atrocity that had just taken place.
“Hello, Cynthia.”
“Who are you? What is this?”
"An accident," he answered, and for just a moment, I saw a glimmer of sadness in his eyes. "Can I escort you to the colony?"
I stared at the bodies on the ship. Three months ago, they all were strangers to me, and I hadn't tried to get to know them. Shame consumed me. These were better people than me.
But I wasn't one to wallow in self-pity. I looked back at the new Nahid and nodded before following him into the woods. I was alive, and I certainly wasn't going to survive all alone.
We made our path along a small river. Large pine trees backed up to the edge of it, and shrubs and wildflowers scattered along the ground. The terrain was complicated and patternless, far different than the flat concrete surfaces my feet were accustomed to. The air was fresh and crisp, with a flavor I couldn't identify. It was clean and perfect. How could they die from it?
The settlement was in another clearing, and it looked just like the pictures I would watch on the feeds back home. So many people were moving about, smiling and laughing as they worked. They seemed happy.
“They aren’t real, are they?”
Nahid looked at me. “Am I not real?”
"You're not Nahid. You're something else, and so are they."
He nodded. "Most are like me, but some are like you. We brought this place here for you, but when the first ship landed, all but one perished… withdrawals from your poisonous air. We didn't want him to be alone."
"So, you decided to play pretend?"
"As more ships came, the same kept happening. Only a few survived, but we've found they forget over time. You will too."
I shook my head; I wasn't about to forget. "But you're not them. You're not those people."
"We have their memories, and we choose to lead their lives. Are people not the sum of their memories? I know all Nahid once knew. I remember everything and everyone, including you."
"That can't be good." The words slipped out before I could stop them, but to my surprise, this new Nahid laughed. It was disarming, but not-unwelcome. I didn't know who he was or what he was, but I could see Nahid in him.
“Come with me, Cynthia. Let me show you your new home.”
Ramon,
This world: it's incredible. It's everything we dreamed of. I'm surrounded by life and greenery, with so many possibilities for my future. I have so much to tell you. I can't wait for you to get here and to see you again.
This world: it's incredible. It's everything we dreamed of. I'm surrounded by life and greenery, with so many possibilities for my future. I have so much to tell you. I can't wait for you to get here and to see you again.