Jennifer Campbell sat alone in the observation deck aboard the eleven mile long asteroid ship – “Rock of Ages”. She stared out into space at the looming planet ahead, its green and blue colors representing lush fertile lands and oceans.
A perfect home at last she thinks. She had survived the parlous times of the last few weeks and now the Sisyphean journey was at an end.
The “Rock of Ages” has been traveling through the vastness of deep space for the last two-hundred-and-seventy-nine years. One of six self-contained worlds sent off from Earth’s solar system with no specific destination in mind, hoping that at least one of them would eventually come across a world that could be colonized. Lacking the technology and knowledge of how to create faster than light speed engines, this scheme was considered a viable alternative.
Ten thousand people set out on the journey and since then there have been twelve generations of descendants from that initial number. The “Rock of Ages” was built to last with its enclosed ecology systems, forest and lake; its housing quarters, labs, hospitals, schools, zoos, shops, mining operations, factories, justice and law enforcement systems and the many recreation facilities. All filled with scientists, doctors, veterinarians, engineers, botanists, teachers, astronauts, judges, law enforcement personnel and priests of all the varying faiths of mankind, and of course the workers, government officials and families.
As no one knew how long the journey would be, the “Rock of Ages” was run on democratic principles, there were elections, liberty and freedom of speech, and everyone had a say. Religious practices were also allowed. There was a chain of command to begin with but over time it became elected officials. And in time the whole place became a microcosm of Earth, as every race was represented. And everybody knew that they were all part of something bigger than themselves; ensuring the continuation of the human race.
And so life aboard the great rock went on. Generation after generation people worked, married, had children, died and always kept searching for a new home - a second Earth. And each new generation was taught about where they came from, what was expected of them and what their ultimate mission was.
There were good and bad times, crises’ to be dealt with, diseases to be fought. But for all their lofty ideals the people aboard the rock had to endure the darker underbelly of humanity; murders, rape, bashings. Although they were not common occurrences crime would always rear its ugly head every so often. The most famous being the serial killer, Devlin Ash, who took seventeen lives before being captured, tried, and sentence to death. He is the only inhabitant of the rock to ever suffer the death penalty, the only individual to be spaced.
But that was over eighty years ago and following his demise life aboard the “Rock of Ages” continued on as it always had. That was until the rise of Ares.
His real name was Sebastian Tucker, his parents were maintenance engineers, but their only son was something else entirely. Charismatic, dashing, debonair and a brilliant mind made him an exceptional person. He rose to the rank of Chief Justice, the highest office within the legal system. He was a valuable contributor to society and many believed that it was only a matter of time before he made it to the council of representatives, the governing body of the rock.
Then, sometime around his thirtieth birthday, he changed. Why, who can say, but he began to question the way the rock was run. He spoke of rebellion and revolution and dissention amongst certain quarters. But he was allowed to continue as free speech was the right of every citizen of the rock, and he wasn’t breaking any laws.
His following grew. Society began to question their mission. Factions were drawn up and split apart and sides taken. Sebastian took on the persona of a messiah; taking the name of the god of war, Ares, and began preaching the overthrow of the government. Many said he was mad, crazy, but others took his words as gospel. When they came to arrest him for treason the civil war began.
Jennifer Campbell was a thirty-six year old shuttlecraft pilot when the war started. She was two months pregnant. Her husband, David, a miner, died in an industrial accident six weeks earlier. Jennifer didn’t have any opinion about Ares and his followers. She was more concern with getting on with her life; she mourned the loss of her husband greatly, but countered the negativity with the positive thoughts concerning her unborn child. The one thing about living on the rock was that everything was provided for you; food, shelter, work, good friends and family. All in all the “Rock of Ages” was a wonderful place to live out your life.
But Ares threatened all that.
The uprising spread like wildfire.
Jennifer found herself right in the middle of it, just like so many others. She took up arms; it was either that or die. Many refused to join sides and were imprisoned or executed. The followers of Ares even began to crucify those that defied them. His dreams grew into madness, just like every other political movement that starts out with the best intentions, but gets perverted into something malevolent.
For three bloody weeks the war raged on through the corridors and sections of the rock. As well as the loss of life there was also much damage done to the ship itself. Lake Celestial was destroyed as were the zoological preserves and the hydroponic gardens. Several large explosions tore through the mining plants and docking bays causing sufficient damage to the air processing systems in certain sections that resulted in thousands suffocating to death.
The “Rock of Ages” began to die. Ares was now bent on destroying everything, even including himself and his followers. He would become a martyr to the stars.
But it was Jennifer herself that brought an end to the whole bloody mess. Two days ago the final battle for the “Rock of Ages” took place along the Promenade District. The survivors from each side confronted each other in close quarter combat. The battle raged for more than an hour and for all their losses it still seemed that Ares would win. His followers were just more brutal and more ruthless than that of his enemies.
Seeing all hope lost, Jennifer blew the hydrogen tanks within the promenade. The resulting explosion took out Ares and his followers once and for all. But in doing so she also blew up half of the rock, leaving only a few sections inhabitable. But even those would only be online for a few days and then those too would die.
One of those section that survived was the forward observation deck, where Jennifer now sat, staring out at an inhabitable world, just waiting for people, a new Earth that the rock came across only two days ago.
Jennifer couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. After nearly three centuries and countless generations the “Rock of Ages” had finally found a second Earth.
But the rock was dying.
“But not me.” She says with conviction.
She takes one final look at her new home before making her way to the weather module. This small capsule was designed to enter the atmosphere of planets and take readings. It was the only working ship left aboard the rock. Jennifer had spent the last twenty-four hours converting it to take three life forms; herself, her unborn baby, and Danny, a five year old boy; the only survivors of the “Rock of Ages”. There was room enough in the module for a few months’ supplies. After that Jennifer knew that they would have to be self sufficient. But judging from the few readings she had received from this new world already, food would not be a concern.
And so Jennifer Campbell left the rock of ages with her unborn child and Danny. Bound for a new world and a new life. Yet as Jennifer looks back at the darken and lifeless “Rock of Ages”, she can’t help but wonder if any of the other space rocks have survived and flourished; whether they have in fact found a new world of their own, or have they too been destroyed. For all she knows she and this little boy Danny may be all that’s left of the human race; in which case they would have to try and start again. If her unborn baby can survive and is a girl, then she and Danny could, theoretically, continue on the human race.
But that was in the future, she tells herself, right now they have to survive the present. Yet as the module enters the atmosphere of their new home, Jennifer, suddenly feels a strong sense of hope and joy despite the tragic events that have brought her here.
She is alive, she is not alone, and that meant that humanity still had a chance at continuing. They just had to start all over again.
Copyright © 2011 by Peter Jessop
