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  • Writer's pictureTerra
    • May 15, 2019
    • 19 min read

The day we left Earth…5-15-19 Update





Dear Diary,


So cliche I know but it feels only fitting considering… I need to write, I need to document all of this as it is happening. I have had so many adventures in my life but nothing like this. Nothing that would have prepared me what was next...


It wasn't that long ago that I felt my days were numbered and I had come to peace with that knowledge. In some ways it was a relief to know it was almost over, I could almost rest again. To know that the never ending knaw of hunger would finally dissipate. To know that, if even for a brief moment, to know that I would feel peace again.


Those feelings and so much more came to me, but not in the way I had anticipated. The hunger dissipated, we found safety and shelter. We just needed to leave Earth to experience that... If we did not leave now we would be left to die a slow and painful death if the natural chaos of the planet didn't envelop us deep into its clenches first.


The day we left Earth was nothing like the days of adolescence. The seasons stopped coming about eight years ago. Four years since you could just go shopping at a grocery store. Resources were scarce and civility was all but lost. We saw it coming, we saw the signs but no one believed them. The planet was a mangled afterthought of what use to be known as Earth. The booming cities of yesteryear looked like crumbling artifacts of ancient times.


The day we left Earth we no long had a choice. We were refugees of a war torn planet with few resources left. Contact was made when the few survivors were about to give up hope. The absence of choice was prevalent. Many were living in camps doing their best to survive. A loud message enveloped the planet for the last week. Much like a school PA system for the whole planet letting us know that a rescue ship was coming to bring all survivors to a new planet for relocation before Earth would be rendered uninhabitable. It played in all the languages of the world. We were told to gather in groups and fly a white flag with a red “x” over our location. The ship would make three passes around the planet before leaving Earth to self destruct.


A ship was coming for us and if we didn't get on it now we would become another victim of the global war that had broken out over a decade ago. We didn't know the planet or even the galaxy we were going to but we knew it was a way out...The only way, so we boarded willingly and prayed. Prayed wherever they took us was better than what we left. So here we are standing in line with the thousand other people that found their way and we wait and we pray. We pray for the Earth we knew, we pray for those we lost and we pray those who survived found their way.


The ship is huge I've never seen anything like it. We are loaded into a giant room. It reminds me of how the school gyms were used during the first few natural disasters. Back when we were still functioning as a civilized society. The vastness is endless when we look down the corridors going off in different directions. They are lettered and numbered in different languages. It appears they can change to reflect different languages. I overheard a crew member mentioning that they are all kept in the language they are currently rescuing on one side and the other side is a rotation of the more current languages they've rescued. Most inhabitants of the ship don't need the translation after a few rescues. From what we've been told they were able to save about 22,000 from Earth thus far and are going to make one more orbit after they finish this one that they are about halfway through. After the final orbit looking for signs of life, Earth will be considered an uninhabitable planet. The resources ran dry years ago. The civilizations self destructed. Few survived.


They said the last orbit will take 365 Earth days to be considered thoroughly checked then that's it the planet will be left to self destruct. It shouldn't take long with the extreme weather that has taken the planet.


Tornadoes ravaged the central United States. The coasts started eroding even faster when the cyclones started. All of the volcanos started erupting at uncontrollable rates. Tsunamis took Asia, Africa and most of Europe. What wasn't taken by natural disaster was pillaged beyond recognition.


Many of the survivors were malnourished and in desperate need of medical attention. Ailments that were considered life threatening and caused survivors to leave loved ones behind in an attempt to survive were being treated in seconds by the ship's medical team. There was so much equipment we'd never seen that could work what seemed like magic on the human body. It was mystifying to watch. Looking around I couldn't help but feel antsy. The line was so slow moving with so much to take in and so many questions.


Those who followed Syfy were giddy with glee to see everything in real life. Those ultra religious were in a state of shock and just being moved along as if there were on a conveyor belt. Then there was the rest... Very few were above 70 and those that were you couldn't tell. The children were handling it the best they could. Those still with family huddled close and those who aged well beyond their given years were excited to explore the new life they've been given. At this point most people were so thankful to have three meals a day and a bed to sleep in that there was no room for shock. They wanted to adapt and assimilate as quickly as possible. They wanted to establish new roots and now a days a year was eternity. Being able to settle into their suites for a year was a blessing. I was among the thankful and excited. Being a travel journalist for years before the wars started breaking out meant this was just another adventure and I was coming along for the ride.


We moved through the stations they've set up to get us assimilated as quickly and efficiently as possible. They are recommending roommates to get through the adjustment but are honoring single room requests. After decontamination everyone is given undergarments, a t-shirt and a tracksuit to get through the process. We're told further instructions for getting a wardrobe or anything else we need is in our suites. They want to streamline the process as much as possible until we are all settled in. Everyone is given a once over by the medical staff. Those who need treatment are treated by the medical staff. As the system finds family connections through DNA they are able to reconnect survivors to loved ones who were rescued.


Everyone encountered has been professional but compassionate. They have 3,300 of us to process today and they seem to really be trying to make this as easy as possible on the survivors. After medical we are given an implant in our hands that allows us to scan any door, operate the generating machines and pretty much everything else we used to use cellphones for. We are given a tablet they designed to walk us through the integrations. The first thing it is programmed to do is to lead us to our individual suites.


Feeling like we're in a real life version of pacman everyone starts to make their way through the corridors following the dots on their screen that were leading them to their new suites. For the most part we all head in the same direction until we get to The New Earth wing. We're told there is a generator in each suit can make anything we need. Families are given suites that houses the entire family. Slowly everyone gets their tablet and finds their suite. Meeting their new roommates when applicable.


The suites are more than generous. They are sleek and stunning reminiscent of a futuristic Manhattan Loft if the wars never broke out. The generator removes the need for a kitchen but we are given the option of having one for nostalgia. I find myself in a suite with a sweet woman from Nebraska named Claire. She has fiery red hair and use to be a travel photographer. I quickly see why they stationed us together. We found easy conversation and quickly formed then beginnings of a friendship. We had spent the last few years living parallel lives documenting what started out as a global war but inevitably turned into the failure of Earth as a planet. We had traveled to many of the same places and witnessed many of the same events from different perspectives. It was beyond intriguing to chat together and discuss everything we had been through. Though we caught ourselves before getting too lost in reminiscing as we still had a lot to do still as far as settling in. I do have to admit the roommate was a good idea and that it is nice having someone to go through this with especially someone who shares so many experiences.


Our next task is generating our basic necessities and programming our tablets to our own personal tastes. It was a nostalgic feeling like setting up a new phone. A simple pleasure like this has been lost for so long that I could help but marinate in the simple joy it brought. Being able to soak in the feeling of joy for a minute after so many minute spent trying to survive.


The tablet called Zonya it walked us through using the generator next. After studying our civilization they decided a tablet would be the easiest way to transition us into the world on a galactic level. In some way we were quite far behind on technology but the few advancements we did have made it easy for them to create a machine we would understand. The tablet was set up similar to an earth tablet yet without the restrictions of battery life, wifi, ads or any other nonsense from the digital earth period.


To find clothes we searched for what they were looking for and when we made a choice the item generated for us in Trixie the nickname everyone on board seems to call the machine by. Similarly we could generate food and drink at a whim. They seem to have most earth staples and millions of items we, the people of earth, had never heard of. Needless to say the generators got a work out. Claire and I took turns creating a basic wardrobe and a small feast. Like many people of Earth neither of us had eaten a full meal in years. We were surprised by how much the food tasted straight out of our memories.


This ship, called The Savior, we would come to learn is a rescue ship and many of the people were rescued themselves. By time they make it to the planet they were meant to settle on they've made friends and sometimes families . They end up wanting to continue the mission to rescue the next planet. With a ship of this size adding a few thousand people was nothing. There were over 9 million suites available alone and the ability to expand was easier than Earth people would ever believe.


As a planet is saved they are given a section of the spaceship to settle in. Some people move for various reasons to other areas. For now being the newest kids on the block the Earthlings primarily resided in section E9, The New Earth wing.

The tablets provided an interactive map to get everyone wherever they needed to go. Right now that was the big intergalactic conference room. The conference room looked like ten united nations rooms put together. It was huge with screens everywhere to help people see who was speaking.


We were welcomed and introduced to numerous important figures. The rules and laws were explained and some of the ships routines were explained. During intake they had asked everyone about their skills, interests and previous jobs. We found out this information was used to match each newcomer with a fellow being that had similar interests and jobs. As Claire and I had already guessed.


Everyone did their part to help keep the ship running. With millions of people there was no lack of help and things seemed to just operate smoothly. There was a security fleet and a command brigade to operate the ship that we were introduced to. There was a lot we would come to learn of the ship but they wanted us to just get use to the eb and flow before overloading us. Many Earthlings were still in a bit of a state of shock taking in all the beings present. Most had noticed a few different beings on their way to the suites but now in this great room all the different beings were present and many Earthlings were suddenly realizing just how small their galactic view was and how narrow minded Earth had been. Those who believed in other beings were often chastised and yet here we are in a room of easily a thousand different beings. The look of shock was eminent on the Earthlings, part of why I think this meeting was kept short and sweet.


Our Zonyas were programmed to help each person learn the ship at a rate that was appropriate for them. The program learned from its owners interests and helped offer activities based on their interests. The children were evaluated and put into classes with additional 'welcome to the galaxy' classes where they will be caught up on what all the other children grew up being taught. Earth history is such a small portion of galactic history that there was a lot to catch up on. Adults were also entered into a program to welcome them to the intergalactic world. We have 6 months of classes and one year of on the job training ahead of us in most cases depending on the person's adaptability.


The first few weeks went quickly with everyone adjusting well for the most part. An Amish family seems to be having the most trouble coming to terms with what is happening. They haven't left their suites since the initial intake not even for classes and had to be brought to their suites by the most human looking security officer since they refuse to use their Zonya. The Earthlings who were counselors on Earth have been asked to try and help them assimilate but progress is slow. We take shifts trying to tutor them but were reassured by the teaching staff that they will be entered into a round of classes when they were ready. Many of the people of Earth have taken turns going to their suite and generating food for them. The children seem to be watching trying to learn but the parents are hesitant. They were found on a farm in New York by chance on the last pass over. It took having an officer who had a natural glow to them convince the family he was god and was trying to save them to lure them onto the spaceship. They've been in shock since. They ended up bringing their horse and carriage, cow and butter churner with them.


No one really knows what to do with the family at this point or the horse.. Or the group of tribes people rescued from the Amazon. Their first interaction with an advanced species is an Alien Spaceship trying to save them. No one is having much luck with the language barrier but thankfully they have adapted quickly to the generator and with an Earworm and some reprogramming of the earworms language processor we were eventually able to effectively communicate. Many of them were recruited to the nutrition division. Turns out they have superior soil knowledge.


Earworm - An implanted device in ones ear that allows translation of any language automatically as if you spoke the language natively. Earworms were implanted during the medical evaluations at intake.


Announcements over the speaker lets us know a group of approx 2,000 was spotted in some salt caves in Minnesota. Their system is designed to recognize any changes since their last pass over. It then runs the differences in the images against natural disaster activity to see what changes are signs of life. Passing over Manhattan there is a new sign in a window. They find a group of about 300 that had been living in an abandoned skyscraper. A second group of about 1,000 that were living in the underground tunnels and a third group of 856 found just outside the city. Sever

al stops were made on the way to Minnesota and the newcomers started the process. At this point several nurses and medical personnel that were found early on started helping out with the intake process so there were more earthlings greeting them. By the end of the day it was a good day and another 8,000 people were recovered from The Americas.


The process repeated everyday as new people were found and rescued. The Amish family struggled, thankfully there were enough Earthlings to keep them from total melt down though some days were harder than others. They insisted their horse Yohaun, the buggy and their cow named Betty stay in their suites with them. Modern plumbing is still lost on them. Thankfully we have managed to program the toilet to open when they lift the seat much like an outhouse would appear to them.


It's been a tough transition for a few but then there are others who are thriving. A few once troublesome teens are now finding a purpose, taking classes and learning about career opportunities. On a ship like this there was a place for everyone and the technology to help you find your way to it.


We are about half way through the third week on the ship. Suddenly alarms start going off like crazy everywhere and the captain comes over the speaker "code red Bloodeye approaching." Everyone started panicking as no one knows what that means. The earthlings are pouring out into the commons area in a state of panic. Parents are trying to calm their children and we are only left to assume the worst when suddenly a 7 year old from Canada spoke up "A Bloodeye is a pirate ship that scavenges abandoned planets for anything of value left on them including people to use for labor" he was of course reading from Zonya and the only one smart enough to look it up. The group of earthlings that had gathered in the E9 common space then started throwing out their theories getting each other riled up as humans seem to be so great at doing.


Eventually the second in command security officer came to explain to the earthlings what was happening. He was there by chance as they were alerted to an incident in E9 when the Amish family tried to drive their buggy through the door in an attempt to escape when the alarms started going off. The horse is a bit dazed and the doors are jammed from where he rammed into them. The Amish family is in hysterics in full blown Pennsylvania Dutch and we can barely catch enough in the earworm to translate. The cow is mooing up a storm and the horse just wants out at this point. We end up with 2 doctors and a maintenance team who are able to finally pry the door open enough for one of the doctor's to squeeze through and tranquilize the animals and the family until the situation is resolved. They fear that they are too likely to hurt themselves or cause another scene when they need all hands on deck.


After getting the Amish family settled the security chief briefed us on what was happening. The Captain had radioed the union and backup was coming. Bloodeyes are suppose to keep their distance from rescue ships evacuating planets but this one seems to think it doesn't need to follow the rules. The captain is currently trying to maintain control of the situation well we wait for back up from the union fleet in the next galaxy. We are told to stay put and keep everyone calm well they handle this. No one in this sector has been here long enough to be more than a hindrance at this point. Some of those that were working have returned a bit shook having been dismissed with little information as essential crew started preparing the ship for lock down. A few maintained their posts as they seemed to already be acclimating to this new way of living and found a way to be useful. Most of the ones who stayed have been on the ship for a year or more already and were here for the last Bloodeye encounter.


We can feel an almost woooph vibrate through the air. We're told it's warning shots we fired when the Bloodeye tried to enter earth's atmosphere. The first union ship is 3.5 minutes out. The Bloodeye isn't backing down but it hasn't fired back yet. We are all at a stand still waiting for updates. Anxiety is high with many people pacing the commons area. The families are staying in their suites with one of the adults coming out for updates every so often to keep the children from being too scared. It feels like the longest three and a half minutes of our lives and we'd all lived through many wars.


There is a stillness in the air then suddenly we feel the ship quickly maneuver out of orbit and drop back down to Earth's lower atmosphere. We wait anxiously in the commons area for any updates. We don't know what's happening or if it's good or bad but we are moving evasively, you can feel it. After what felt like eternity, though in reality it was only a few minutes I'm sure, the captain came over the speakers with an announcement. The union ships had finally arrived and we were told to stand down and continue our mission they would handle the Bloodeye. We are going to stay in the lower orbit until the union is confident the Bloodeyes have retreated.

Till Next time…


Hey Diary it’s me again,


I really need to come up with a better name for you, it feel so “childish” to write “Dear Diary” I just don't know how else to start this.


After several weeks and meetings with "god" the Amish are slowly starting to process some of what's going on. I wouldn't exactly call them assimilating but realizing they aren't going home is slowly starting to creep in. The children have been allowed to start taking classes with the rest of the kids.

I decided to work with the kids to teach them the Zonya. The parents were hesitant at first but they started coming around. They had a lot of questions though most of which none of us had many answers for.


"Where was the butter churner?"

"Where did we keep the cows?"

"Where is buggy parking?"

"Where is the sewing machine for the clothes?

"Who's making the clothes?"


After the buggy incident it was decided by the Captain that their buggy would be stored in ship bay with the other transportation vehicles. They were able to generate a field for the horse and cow. It'll be an experiment to see how the animals adapt to their changing surroundings.


This also sparked the debate of what other animals should be rescued and how that would work. Many were fighting to try and find their pets. It got pretty heated more than once. Finally the captain decided to humor everyone. He had the engineers create a game of sorts. Well we flew over Earth we were given a program we could use to search for animals that survived. It synced up to the anti gravitational beam that brought ships into the bay. They programed all the beams to direct the animals to the new vet intake bay. The animals were scanned for disease and infection then different terrains were created and the animals were set loose unless of course they were an adequate pet that had a family willing to take it in. Many dogs and cats were rescued. A surprising amount of turtles were saved they really do survive anything. One kid brought a bear in which created a new set of rules. Surprisingly the bear was adjusting pretty well so it was decided it would be a case by case decision but to try to keep it to pets as everyone / everybeing was loving the nightly adoption events being held. To many of the other beings pets were a foreign concept, an exciting one but a foreign one nonetheless. The cats were in high demand due to the longer life expectancy and house training abilities. Some of the dogs were a bit too wild to settle into suite life after struggling to survive for so long and had to join the wild animal rooms. It was quite an interesting task to try to figure out how to transport a pet fish successfully. The first 3 missed the bowl but now 5 kids have a couple of pet fish. The animal rescue game was a hit ship wide. A Trilidogde family took in a pet sloth they found late one night. We ended up finding a family of giraffes to release into the desert. A Seal caused the creation of the ships first aquarium habitat that was an interesting undertaking.. Thankfully some of the Earthlings were able to be of assistance with building the new aquarium wing.

The nightly adoption events ended up being a great mingling opportunity. One Generium had the idea to turn it into a adoption mixer and generated a bar to run. Soon it was the place to be. Which also meant people were starting to take on more than one pet we'll see how that goes.


The addition of the Earth animals to the ship has somehow found some common ground amongst the masses and allowed friendships to start blooming. The divide amongst us has started to dissipate. The Earthlings having the ability to offer insight into the animals and how to handle them inflates the bruised egos of the defeated. This did so much for morale that we could definitely say we are taking a triumphant step towards homeostasis. The ego of the Earthlings was so diminished from the loss of everything and being at the mercy of the galaxy. This small boost reignited the ambition and drive in the many. These pets have been a major turning point in the integration of Earthlings as a vital part of the ships existence. Before we were just a constant nuisance needing help as we feebishly found our way in this new world. Now we were of use and had information to share we finally started to find out place.


There are now several ship dog parks to let your pups get exercise and even obedience training classes. From playing the Animal Rescue game a service animal trainer was found surviving in the blue mountains outside Asheville, North Carolina. She still had about a dozen well trained service dogs with her that she was afraid they wouldn't rescue so she never tried to wave a flag. If not for the game we would have never found her.


The game turned up an impressive amount of animal rescues and in its first week led to an additional 3,000 people rescued. A surprising amount of marine life animals were rescued over the Atlantic along with an old ship wreck that got placed in the aquarium and the SS Sullivan was found over lake Erie. Slowly it seemed like some of the great features of Earth are finding a home aboard the ship. The children are loving all the new exhibits to explore. Many of the animals have already started to adapt as their is a constant food source and low risk to their safety you can tell even the animals were exhausted from trying to survive the harsh climates and were eager to relax into the old way of life.


A group of chimpanzees was rescued out of South America. The testing the ship is able to do found that with an earworm they could be considered another species to live amongst us as opposed to living in one of the sanctuaries. So they were given a suite converted for their natural instincts. They were able to replicate a large tree with a extensive branch and vine system for them. It's truly amazing how quickly they are evolving now that we can all communicate efficiently.


The Amish children managed to find their chickens that were still on the farm. Surprisingly the addition of the chickens seems to have warmed Marta, the mother, up as between the cows, now plural thanks to the game, and the chickens she if finding a way to adapt. Abram, the husband, is the most reluctant. Though one of the maintenance guys was able to make a bit of a connection and he agreed to shadow him for a week to see what he thought. Over all there is progress and we haven't had any horses charging anything since that night. It may help that we also haven't been on High alert since then either.


The union authorized two ships to stay in orbit in case the Bloodeye tried to make a return trip. The union and the Blooeye's have been at odds lately since they struck down a Bloodeye that would not back down during a time sensitive planet evacuation. The planet was going to self implode and the Bloodeye wouldn't stand down from trying to harvest what they could before it imploded. It got heated and when the ship proceeded to land on the planet despite warnings it was thrown into a black hole thanks to a especially crafty coalition between three union spaceships using their anti gravitational force beams. The ship hasn't been heard from since and it didn't go over especially well with the other Bloodeyes. Up until then matters had been mostly civil for the last 10 years since the evacuation of plotatium 7 known for an incredibly valuable mineral. One once was worth more than most would see in a lifetime and several Bloodeyes refused to stand down until it turned into an all out war between the union and the until then ununionozed Bloodeyes. Since that incident however there is rumors that the Bloodeyes have formed their own treaties of sorts. The current rift is evidence of that treaty.


Till next time…


Terra Lent

©️2019


The first two versions of this story are available here if you want to see how this story has been evolving. This is a continuing story be sure to check back and see what happens next.

 


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