Chapter 1:

Life Beyond Comprehension

Project: Beyond Comprehension


Young eyes fixated on static, mindless boredom, spin within sunken eyes. A sigh falls from a young girl's breath as children run around, and their laughter and faint cries echo through a musky foster home.

Static is heard as someone flips through channels on a wide television screen. The TV flips channels until an advertisement catches the eyes of whoever may be lucky enough to see it.

“Have you ever felt like you're stuck living in the same place?” Sounds of a light scream sound effect playing on the TV blare in the ad. An image of a tiny person stuck in a bird cage is poorly green-screened into the frame of the TV.

The scene changes abruptly to a desperate man pressing his hands on his head while sitting at the foot of a bed, “Have you ever felt like you’re just sitting in your room, all the time, doing absolutely nothing of value? Like your life amounts to nothing?”

“Maybe you feel like your body and smarts can be used elsewhere, maybe even for the greater good of humanity!” The scene switches to depict people holding hands while dancing around the earth.

“Join us here at Project Beyond Comprehension, where you can help us progress with exploration amongst the stars, and we can give you a life away from the mundane earth you’ve grown to know!”

The scene fades into a lab, showing a very over-the-top, stereotypical lab with people in white coats and goggles, lab equipment, and other various commercial doodads, which add to the scene. “We’re looking for just about anyone with two brain cells to rub together and an ambition that rivals that of an Olympian.”

The scene fades to an assistant bringing a cup of coffee to a man with an inflated head peering over a “BOSS MAN” plaque on his desk. “Why sit serving your big boss man at a dead-end job for the rest of your life when you could become something so much more?” The assistant lifts the cup and sees a golden ticket that reads Project Beyond Comprehension.

The ad on the TV is momentarily lost to static, causing a hand to smack it aggressively, returning the signal. The TV comes back to an abyss painted with shining stars, “The stars, the galaxy, the universe. You can see it all if you climb our grand ladder! Become an interstellar scout, and escape this unsavory planet to ascend to the stars!”

“Experience an existence greater than your wildest dreams and see things you could only dream of. Work for us, and we’ll give you a Life Beyond your Comprehension.” The ad ends, and the channels begin surfing back into a sea of static.

A gruff voice from the couch scoffs as smoke and voice spew from the mouth of a frumpy, unclean man. “Heh, Bunch of damn balloons, can ye imagine? A life beyond comprehension. Ya know what I say to that Junie? I say ther Bums oot the windae”. A guttural obnoxious laugh follows with a smoker's chronic cough.

Young eyes fixated on the static, as a shine develops on sunken eyes. A spark of wonder ignites in a young girl as the man's words fall on deaf ears.

Year 2225

Unexplored Planet ZX7

Dust surrounds a hunk of freshly grounded, high-tech hunk of metal labeled drop pod ZX7-01. Silver and metallic yellow patterns cover the drop pod, and the words Project BC are painted in matte black across the back end of the pod. The metal glistens, basking in the alien sun.

The door of the drop pod folds outwards, steam shrouding the doorway as it digs into the grey soil. The silhouette of a person wearing a slim-fitting EVA suit is outlined through the steam.

“Bloody hell! Ya think they’d warn ya beforehand of the chills that come from leaving cryo-sleep!” Sounds of metal boots on a metal walkway clank as the silhouette becomes a full person. “Well, Hello! Aren’t you lovely? The name’s June. I look forward to getting to know ya!” June excitedly exclaims into an empty audience. Her greeting to the planet around her goes unreciprocated.

June adjusts her Oxygen mask and gloves as she steps out onto the grainy soil. She looks around, taking in the alien landscape. Trees adorned with crimson-colored leaves and bone-white bark sit scattered throughout the hills around her. Grey soil and greyish-pink grass sprinkle the semi-graveled dirt. “I see you’re the quiet type. Look at you, though. You’re rather bonnie, aren’t ya!?” The woman basks in view before her as a growing feeling of awe melts throughout her.

A hologram appears from June's suit in front of her. An image of colorful words appears in front of her. “Welcome Juniper O’ Neil. Planet ZX7 awaits your discovery, and we await your findings.” A formal, stereotypical male butler voice begins to speak to her from within her suit.

“Oi, so yer my line between me and the company. What’s the name, voice in my suit?” June's face strikes a slightly startled and then interrogative expression to follow her question.

“My name is irrelevant. But if you must, you can call me B-111 or Bill for easier communication. As you know, communication between solar systems can prove a difficult task. I will be your connection between you and our company. I will simply be your AI secretary for relaying information between you and HQ.”

June looks around, slightly ignoring Bill’s voice. “I see,” a slight pep sparks in her voice “SOoo, What yer sayin’ is, I’m pretty much completely alone, ya?”

“Yes, as per your request, you’ve been sent to planet ZX7 completely alone. While usually more dangerous, we tasked you with what appears to be a relatively safer planet. According to our scans, ZX7 is abundant with various mineral-enriched flora. We also picked up no signs of fauna roaming around. This planet should be something someone as competent as you’ve proven to be could handle alone.

“Well, aren’t you peachy, saying all these nice things to me.” Her face bubbled with excited curiosity.

“Inside should be the basic equipment you need for your engineering, research, data analyzing, and other various things to help you help the company in our mission in scouting out ZX7 for potential colonization. We ask that you please log in for the day and check your vital signs to make sure you are ready and healthy. That's all for now. Goodbye, Juniper.” The intercom rings with a faint, momentary static, then clicks into silence.

The Girl looks around and grabs some leaves from the ground. She enters her pod and notices the pod inside seems to be in sleep mode. A terminal with her full name “Juniper O’Neil,” lays against the back wall of this relatively cramped drop pod. She closes the door behind her and navigates her way through dimmed light to the front of the terminal.

Taking her gloves off, She presses her thumb against the small thumb-shaped pad near the bottom right corner of the terminal. A whirring sound echoes in the pod as the electricity runs through the thumb pad into the system and then from the system to the rest of the drop pod. She looks around seeing places to research samples she collects, a table to construct and engineer new gadgets for herself, and other various equipment.

She spots a few glass beakers, some of which she requested specifically. That being “Alum” and “Washing Soda.” She heats up a beaker of water, placing the crimson leaves inside. The pigment within the leaves boils out into the water while moments later she scoops up small amounts of alum and then washing soda and mixes it into a Crimson foamy liquid.

She then removes the mixture from the heat and pours it onto a cheesecloth covering a jar. Once it's dripped through the cloth and into the jar, a dry hardened paint is left behind. She grinds it up with a mortar and pestle and tucks most of the paint dust into a small glass jar, labeling it “Leaves” and setting it on a shelf nearby.

She takes a glass bottle labeled “Linseed oil” and drops a few dots into the dried paint dust, mixing it around until a beautiful crimson spreads across the pallet. She then takes her painting pallet outside with a big brush, and in big letters, she paints “June’s Home” on the side of the drop pod.

June looks at her new home with a feeling of warmth and joy melting through her soul. She looks up and softly says, “Nice to meet ya, Yer gonna be where I stay here. Hope you don’t mind my intrusion, lass.” She pats the pod lightly and smiles.

Looking around her now, taking in the scenery, she sees a vast world covered in different colors. Looking up, she sees dual moons: A smaller red moon with white spots around it and a larger moon with shiny green terrain hiding behind a yellowed haze.

The sunlight beamed from behind June as she looked ahead, watching the faint sight of these moons reflecting the sunlight onto the hills.

Feint mixes of red and yellow lay across the planet's canvas, green spotlights dancing ever so slightly within small spots, almost not visible to June's eyes. A beautifully desolate land, so vast and empty. So silent and peaceful.

“Well, there’s no time like the now to get started with this new life ahead of me.” Under June's breath, whispers dripped from her lips, “I can’t wait.” A smile appears, realizing the reality of her new future. 

Leftovers
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