You are ready, yet you are hesitant. The time has come. The Search For Earth-like Planets Association (SFEPA) has trained you vigorously for most of your life so far in preparation for this moment. Highly advanced space pods have been manufactured specifically for you and 99 other people. 50 of these people are men, the other 50 are women. Every major belief system, ranging from theism to atheism, as well as every major nationality, is represented among these 100 individuals. In these space pods, there are beds to sleep on, unique toilets and limited supplies of water and liquid food contained in tubes. These space pods are equipped with what are known as 'hyperspace drives', which not only enable them to temporarily move at superluminal velocities but to do so without killing the people dwelling inside them.
Once these space pods are launched, SFEPA's goal is for the people inside these space pods to detect planets in distant solar systems in the Milky Way galaxy that contain life-bearing features on them similar to those here on Earth and then report them to SFEPA's headquarters in Antarctica. This is because Earth only has a few more years left. Human colonisation of Earth-like planets is therefore essential, SFEPA believes, in ensuring that humankind endures.
Now you have stepped inside your space pod, the door of the space pod that you entered into has automatically closed itself and you have made sure that you remain seated and tightly strapped on one of the several chairs inside your space pod at least until your space pod enters outer space as per SFEPA's instructions. Your space pod blasts off high into Earth's atmosphere rapidly. You have ascended beyond the troposphere and into the stratosphere in less than five minutes. You look out of a window in your space pod to see clouds generating lightning beneath you. Shortly afterward, you observe a few weather balloons floating past you. To your utter astonishment, you also notice nine long and colourful serpentine creatures flying close to your space pod. In the mesosphere, which is where you currently are, you enjoy the sight of a stunning meteor shower. Dozens of these meteors hit your space pod, but you are unconcerned by this because the dense metal coating of your space pod is completely impenetrable to meteors. The thermosphere provides you with the sighting of a space shuttle. By this point, you are feeling very tired. However, you wait until the exosphere has been surpassed and then open the belt that had kept you safely strapped.
You have reached the hauntingly beautiful void of outer space. Thoughts of your childhood and teenage years race through your mind. So too do thoughts of your family and friends. "The loneliness here is almost unbearable", you think. Pressing the button that activates the hyperspace drive, your space pod blazes through the Milky Way galaxy at 69 times the speed of light. After 69 seconds, the hyperspace drive stops in a distant solar system which is obviously unlike anything you have ever seen before. You observe a giant gas planet similar to the planet Jupiter in the solar system that you lived in for most of your life so far, except that it is far larger and mostly has a pinkish hue to it. The voice of your mind says "The USA isn't waging a war here, the Arabs and the Jews aren't fighting for land here and North Korea can't test its nukes here. Every king on Earth that ever reigned, every politician on Earth that ever debated, every entertainer on Earth that ever entertained, every dictator on Earth that ever had his or her citizens murdered, every young couple that ever had sex in a grocery store - none of that matters here. Here in the vacuum of limitless space, humankind is both insignificant and irrelevant."
A mere second after your mind has declared these statements, you look out of a window in your space pod and are SHOCKED to see what is apparently the face of rapper Snoop Dogg staring at you. "Whattaheck?!", you think. Snoop's voice is now heard in your mind. "Remain calm, my beloved child. In case you are wondering, I am indeed the rapper Snoop Dogg and I am speaking to you telepathically. I have come here to serve as a beacon of hope for all souls who are lost and confused", said Snoop. Your turbulent mind is now finally at peace and even though the destinies of you and your 99 other colleagues are uncertain, you nevertheless feel a sense of hope flowing within you knowing that the loving presence of Snoop Dogg is in your midst.
THE ENDIZZLE
Once these space pods are launched, SFEPA's goal is for the people inside these space pods to detect planets in distant solar systems in the Milky Way galaxy that contain life-bearing features on them similar to those here on Earth and then report them to SFEPA's headquarters in Antarctica. This is because Earth only has a few more years left. Human colonisation of Earth-like planets is therefore essential, SFEPA believes, in ensuring that humankind endures.
Now you have stepped inside your space pod, the door of the space pod that you entered into has automatically closed itself and you have made sure that you remain seated and tightly strapped on one of the several chairs inside your space pod at least until your space pod enters outer space as per SFEPA's instructions. Your space pod blasts off high into Earth's atmosphere rapidly. You have ascended beyond the troposphere and into the stratosphere in less than five minutes. You look out of a window in your space pod to see clouds generating lightning beneath you. Shortly afterward, you observe a few weather balloons floating past you. To your utter astonishment, you also notice nine long and colourful serpentine creatures flying close to your space pod. In the mesosphere, which is where you currently are, you enjoy the sight of a stunning meteor shower. Dozens of these meteors hit your space pod, but you are unconcerned by this because the dense metal coating of your space pod is completely impenetrable to meteors. The thermosphere provides you with the sighting of a space shuttle. By this point, you are feeling very tired. However, you wait until the exosphere has been surpassed and then open the belt that had kept you safely strapped.
You have reached the hauntingly beautiful void of outer space. Thoughts of your childhood and teenage years race through your mind. So too do thoughts of your family and friends. "The loneliness here is almost unbearable", you think. Pressing the button that activates the hyperspace drive, your space pod blazes through the Milky Way galaxy at 69 times the speed of light. After 69 seconds, the hyperspace drive stops in a distant solar system which is obviously unlike anything you have ever seen before. You observe a giant gas planet similar to the planet Jupiter in the solar system that you lived in for most of your life so far, except that it is far larger and mostly has a pinkish hue to it. The voice of your mind says "The USA isn't waging a war here, the Arabs and the Jews aren't fighting for land here and North Korea can't test its nukes here. Every king on Earth that ever reigned, every politician on Earth that ever debated, every entertainer on Earth that ever entertained, every dictator on Earth that ever had his or her citizens murdered, every young couple that ever had sex in a grocery store - none of that matters here. Here in the vacuum of limitless space, humankind is both insignificant and irrelevant."
A mere second after your mind has declared these statements, you look out of a window in your space pod and are SHOCKED to see what is apparently the face of rapper Snoop Dogg staring at you. "Whattaheck?!", you think. Snoop's voice is now heard in your mind. "Remain calm, my beloved child. In case you are wondering, I am indeed the rapper Snoop Dogg and I am speaking to you telepathically. I have come here to serve as a beacon of hope for all souls who are lost and confused", said Snoop. Your turbulent mind is now finally at peace and even though the destinies of you and your 99 other colleagues are uncertain, you nevertheless feel a sense of hope flowing within you knowing that the loving presence of Snoop Dogg is in your midst.
THE ENDIZZLE
