First Class
Chronicles of Expansion: Humanity’s (Accidental) Journey to the Edge of Space
Chapter 1 – First Class
For an advanced civilization over seven hundred years into the Space Age, humankind remained curiously primitive in their mastery of a tiny yet expanding universe. Primitive and clumsy. So far, less than one in every hundred surveyed planets met the criteria to be classified as inhabitable. Out of thousands of candidates, only sixty had survived the brutal terraforming process, most of them to be stripped barren of any useful resources immediately afterwards. Twenty-four earths. That’s what we had achieved, at a cost in lives so severe, it had to be hidden deep in the Conglomerate’s bureaucratic maze. Not the kind of material to be covered in class.
Most expeditions were doomed from the moment the countdown reached zero, but for humanity’s sake, we had to keep launching. No number of earths would ever be enough. No number of lives lost too high. No sacrifice too great to prevent our genpos from learning the Cone’s dark truths. This thought, echoed by other faculty members, didn’t dissuade Dr. Kate Farnsworth from teaching or sending young cadets to an early death in the name of exploration. She had always trusted the system, and her place in it. Recruitment and propaganda were somebody else’s problem. There was only one goal: the survival of our species. Her role was to train future explorers, and upon retirement leading an expedition herself on board the Exodus 7.
For Kate, faith in the system would last up until science gave way to nightmares, and cannibalism became the norm in her marooned ship. Even then, she could still recognize some of her former students, running naked and bloodied through the flickering corridors, screaming in agony, and missing a limb or two. Dreams would be her only escape during those last years. Dreams of the Cone and its secrets. Dreams of that first class that seemed both so distant and immediate.
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Fundamentals in Space Age History marked the first step in a long and arduous educational journey. Conquering the cosmos wasn’t easy, but through the Exodus Initiative, we had done it! Or so we claimed all the time. On the first lesson, new recruits learned about the early years of the Space Age, and the events that had led humanity to where it now found itself. Everyone was seated. The red particle clouds hovering over each desk indicated class was about to start.
Dr. Farnsworth thought she recognized a young man in the second row. He looked exactly like the Last Child, the last person born on Earth Zero, and the subject of a famous song that bore his namesake, along with thousands of professional and amateur documentaries. She could not remember his real name. She was not supposed to. Identifying former acquaintances or public personalities was not permitted under the Initiative’s guidelines, even for teachers and Cong officers. A frontal cortex implant was there to remind her, and everyone else, to comply. Just mentioning the wrong name would generate an immediate, one-time warning, and nobody had ever tried figuring out what happened if they said it twice. Besides, she wasn’t there to gossip. Her mission was to teach, and then lead them into space. Theirs was to learn, and to follow.
All fundamental courses were Type 3 Memorization classes, requiring students to learn the material prior to uploading it into their implants. There were to be no shortcuts. No cheating either. Considering the scope and repercussions of the Exodus Initiative, expulsion alone would not be a severe enough punishment, but these were humanity’s brightest minds. Why would they rebel against the Conglomerate? They were all true believers and shield bearers of hope for the glorious human race. A two-minute intro to their first lesson insisted on it, using bright, animated, personalized narrations projected inside each particle cloud.
That was fun!
Welcome to The Exodus Initiative. This is Fundamentals in Space Age History, where we will cover the systematic colonization of known space and humanity’s vision for the cosmos.
Your instructor is Dr. Kate Farnsworth. Physicist. Expert in third generation antimatter propulsion systems. Like you, she has priority placement in Exodus 7, RRE Module 305.
Please load Lesson 1.0.A – The Cone, Mars, and the Early Space Age
Everyone knew about the Cone, but Exodus recruiters promised new, more exclusive truths to lure their unsuspecting victims. Her students were eager to learn more. To be more. Below each cloud, there were closed eyes, a smile, and hands grasping the edge of a metallic desk in anticipation. What could possibly be going through their minds? Who were they aiming to become? Over the next four years, they would compete to the verge of death, looking to impress their instructors and rise through the ranks. It was usually the most ruthless who scored the best quarters once aboard the ship, which worked just fine for the Conglomerate. Deep space didn’t tolerate weakness.
Rank meant nothing for Dr. Farnsworth and her colleagues, whose sole focus was on improving the science and developing new techs. They had no time for the Cong’s dick measuring contests. And not that they would have ever admitted to it, nor said it out loud, but the whole Initiative seemed like a poorly managed game of chance. The goal of finding new earths was simple enough. To reach them, however, dozens of Exodus ships launched every four years, each one carrying hundreds of modules, most to be forever lost in the cold darkness of space. It was a fucking lottery, but her pupils didn’t know that. Neither did the recruiters. They didn’t have to, which is why the material was not covered under Fundamentals in Space Age History or any subsequent courses. Students were there to learn our carefully tailored history and nothing else. Thus, Lesson 1.0.A went on.
Prior to the Space Age, early humans had already launched ships into Earth Zero’s orbit, colonized its moon, and sent unmanned robots to its nearest planetary neighbors. Considering the technological limitations at the time, these were all extraordinary achievements.
Part of a last generation of robots, the Humanity Rover was the first to transmit live images of its experiments back to earth. Our entire species watched in amazement as the rover’s diamond-tip drill carved its way through Martian rocks, listing organic compounds in real time for everyone to see. Millions casted votes to determine which areas to explore next, but interest in numbers only lasts for so long. Viewership dropped dramatically after six months.
Not many people were watching when it happened… Imagine their shock when the drill shattered against a shiny, conical object sticking out of an otherwise ordinary rock. A thing so out of place that even the genpo could tell its significance right away. It had three circular openings on the surface, and intricate carvings along its base. Nature didn’t build such shapes. Neither did humans. Not in Mars, at least. A live, preliminary surface analysis confirmed as much, showing novel elements not found on Earth Zero. That’s when the transmission was cut off.
They couldn’t have known back then, but it is this momentous discovery that marks the beginning of the Space Age Calendar. Year Zero SA.
Here’s something that may surprise you. Over seven centuries later, we still don’t know what the Cone is, where it comes from, or who, or what may have created it. To this day, our research remains limited by its impenetrable surface. We don’t know what it’s made of. We have no idea what its carvings mean, if anything at all. But we have made progress. Most importantly, our ancestors discovered what it does. The Cone bonds with water molecules, forming virtually indestructible, yet highly malleable crystal-based extensions of itself. In other words, it self-replicates at the molecular level. Once scientists learned to control the growth and shape of these structures using light electrical discharges, we could suddenly build anything!
No such discovery comes without its share of controversy, and the realization that we were not alone in the Universe caused an unprecedented, worldwide panic. On the first night of Year Zero, long before we called it so, world leaders tried to reassure their nations. They had no choice but to confirm the footage from earlier that day was authentic. Something strange had been found. The rover was not responding. A manned mission to Mars was already in the works, marking the first of many collaborations between former adversary nations. The Cone, whatever it was, had to be retrieved and examined.
There was a brief pause in the cloud projection, which a few students misunderstood for a chance to raise their hands and ask questions. Dr. Farnsworth took note and reminded everyone to wait until the end of class. Whatever could be answered would be in the lesson. Anything else, why bother asking? She resumed the class with a wave of her hand.
Start of Lesson 1.1.A – The Birth of Earth Zero.
No nation of Earth survived the Cone’s discovery intact. First to go were Mexico, the United States, and Canada, which on the third month of the Space Age merged into the North American Federation. You may open Appendix 11A1 for details on the Texas Secession Wars and other relevant events.
NAF’s sole mission was becoming the first nation, or group of nations, to reach Mars. Security and the bulk of the cost would be covered by the former United States. Canada contributed manpower and natural resources, including fossil fuels, which were no longer available at the radioactive Texas wastelands. Construction of the ship took place in former Mexican lands, at the Refugio Merida research station.
By month twelve, Central and South America had joined NAF, but not before a third of their populations succumbed to civil wars and manufactured starvation. The resulting Great American Federation, or GAF, became the first true supernation of Earth Zero.
On year three, borrowing from the American model, the European Union and Russia united into the Eurasian Union, or ERU. China and what remained of Asia merged with ERU on year four.
By the sixth year, war had mostly subsided, and Earth was divided into three super nations, GAF, ERU, and the short-lived Afroceanic Federation, or AOF. Alone, none could have reached the Cone. Not after years of conflict. But together, as a conglomerate united under the banner of a new and reborn Earth Zero, perhaps they could escape what was left of their world.
In the year 15 SA, The Conglomerate finished building its launching station on Moon Zero, from where the first Hawkins ship and its crew embarked on their two-month journey to Mars. The twelve scientists onboard Hawkins-I had two primary directives. To retrieve the Cone and to build a base of operations where it could be studied.
Every minute of the mission was broadcasted live across Earth and Moon Zero. We can still see the original footage at Gravity Hall, from the launch up to the first glimpses of a derelict Humanity Rover. That’s when the video feed cuts off once again, and a now familiar voice warns us of the Cone’s dangers.
“It appears to be extremely radioactive, but the suits can handle it. We’ll tweak the cameras and return tomorrow.”
The voice belongs to Dr. Marjorie Adams, whose words on the next day are written in a Martian stone outside the Exodus Headquarters.
“To think that such a small object has brought us together. Let us not forget the cost of our disunity so we can fix our eyes on a newborn future of collective hope for all humankind.”
Most of the images we have from that first close encounter are fragmented and full of static, but we can use them to piece together what’s happening. A handful are as clear as your own particle cloud projections. There’s one scene reminiscent of The Creation of Adam, showing the rover’s frozen arm gently touching the Cone. Or that iconic closeup of the mysterious carvings. Most famously, a sequence of sixteen frames shows Dr. Adams’ reflection on the Cone as she picks it up, dusts it off, and raises her arms before delivering her now famous Unity Discourse.
Now is your turn to follow on Dr. Adams’ footsteps and embark on a journey of discovery across the cosmos!
Could your own words be featured in our hallowed halls in the future?
Next class, we will explore early Space Age ships and the colonization of Earth One, the discovery of Earths Two to Twenty-four, and the birth of the Exodus Initiative.
Remember, humanity’s future rests in your hands!
Please stay seated for background information upload.
End of first class.
Dr. Farnsworth knew the most captivating part of Lesson 1.1.A was the footage of her ancient predecessor lifting the Cone. They were powerful images, although somewhat diminished by the knowledge that Dr. Adams had died a few years later from radioactive poisoning, along with all but one of the Hawkins crew. No need to include that in the lesson. No need to reveal who the survivor had been either. Truth had to be administered in small, controlled dosages.
If any student ever asked about the Cone’s whereabouts, Dr. Farnsworth’s instructions were clear. Tell them it is safe. Tell them they are safe, even years later while agonizing screams outside the science quarters revealed the newfound nature of their crewmates. Nobody could have prepared them, or her, for their ship’s fate, nor for what came afterwards.