Frontier
Sampson looked out over the town that bright morning, sipping at his early morning energy substitute. It tasted remotely like something dairy made; maybe even milk, but he couldn't be sure. Just as long as it got him through to lunch.
It was another good day; probably early summer. The seasons here had some kind of resemblance to Earth temperate weather. That meant in a month or so it would start getting hotter. The gardens would take well to the heat. Soon they would begin seeing sproutlings.
He sipped again at his energy substitute, and walked back inside the cinder block building. Eight years. Eight years they had lived out here in this mysterious world, and still they had recieved no contact from back on the other side. Already they expanded outward for hundreds of miles in all directions, settling seven villages, five of which were still operational. And besides the wastelands to the east, so far they had encountered nothing of danger in the land.
Sampson sat down at his computer workstation. He logged his observations of the enviroment today, taking note that yet another summer season was in full swing. It was no surprise, really. He had documented it seven times before. But it was his job as one of the few eco-scientists on the team to document these things. He needed to watch for more patterns, and, possibly, unusual patterns.
Eight years ago, him and all of the other fifteen thousand colonists had traveled through the great void. It was the farthest out any human had ever traveled from home, beyond even the realm of our own galaxy. Hundreds of years they traveled, suspended almost by the relativistic effects of near light speed travel. While he had only aged a mere year, all of his friends back home in the empire were long dead. But then again, what friends had he left behind? Most of them were colleagues that had embarked with him on this journey.
Setting aside the now empty plastic bottle, Sampson finished his report, stretched, and then decided to take a stroll outside. As he opened his front door again, took in the fresh air, he was reminded of how astounded everyone had been upon first arriving here.
The void was a large, dark region of space. When they traveled through, they expected to find more space on the other side. What they found instead was all of this. A vast stretch of Earth like land, seemingly endless in all directions. They landed their ship, took its components, and built the townships they had now resided in these last few years.
There was a sky overhead, yes, but no space. The land stretched off in all directions, but thus far it had no end. They drilled downward, but found no mantle.
Wherever this strange world was, it was not a planet, nor was it part of the known space mankind had since journeyed to. It was some strange place, hidden from the rest of the universe, more like a fairytale land than anything. Only besides their encounters in the wasteland, there was nothing else here. It was devoid; empty.
Such a strange place. But as scientists, all of them jumped with excitement at the chance of exploring this strange place. It was the chance of a lifetime. And although they were still no closer to understanding any of it, they continued to research. They poked, they prodded, they journeyed, and they recorded all of it in their central computer network. Then, one day, when they traveled back through the great void--or perhaps, when their grandchildren'
s children traveled back through the great void--they would have many a strange wonder to retell to the new human empire.
As Sampson closed his front door, reflecting on these thoughts, he was shaken back to reality when he noticed two figures clad in dark clothing running down the center of town. One of them, the shorter of the two, had a young girl in his arms. And he looked terrified.
"She's dying!" the young man called out. "We need to get help!"
Several other front doors burst open. Sampson, however, being the faster of his communit, was the first to reach the two men and their wounded child. Now that he was closer, he could see that the girl's skin was covered with even burns.
"What happened to her?" Sampson inquired, jogging alongside them.
"Radiation poisoning," the young man replied. "I told her not to go into the reactor room, told her it was dangerous."
Sampson swore. How could this have happened? The nuclear power station that fueled their villages was located miles and miles away from here. It was built that way specifically so something like this wouldn't happen. No one ever simply stumbled onto it by chance.
"You let a child wander around inside the power station?!"
"Never mind that now!" the young man continued fiercely. "She needs help!"
They were now at the hospital building. Sampson would have to remember to tell the town council to impose stricter laws on the technicians that worked there.
But for now, they had a life to save.
THE END
Stumble!