Planet B

After hundreds of years in space, the Gaia's mission to find a New Earth won't last much longer.

• Science fiction

								
Planet B



Status Update to Earth Command, Date 08012456-10:17
Transcribed Recording

PAGE: Captain Jenn Page speaking, First Command Eve Buffet present. Today is a day of celebration here aboard the Gaia, isn’t it, Buffet? We have actually just celebrated our fifth birth this year. A little girl. Her mother has gone with the traditional “Eve” as a name. 

[sigh, static crackle]

BUFFET: That’s the-[chuckles]- that’s the twelfth Eve aboard this ship, now. Got enough for a new creation, like God intended, I suppose.

PAGE: And it’s an exciting day for you as well, Buffet! First day as First Command!

BUFFET: Thank you, Captain. I’m very excited for what lies ahead.

PAGE: Any big hopes and dreams for your term?

BUFFET/ PAGE: Find the new Earth. [crosstalk]

BUFFET: Sorry- [chuckles]- am I that predictable?

PAGE: It’s everyone’s big dream, it isn’t hard to predict, kid. Brin hoped it would be him. I still hope it’ll be me, even though sensors haven’t found anything promising since I took office.

[crosstalk]

PAGE: [sighs]-Well, that’s the official report for the day.

[crosstalk]

BUFFET: What about the…

PAGE: Ah…We typically don’t talk about those things in these little updates, they’re more just for posterity. Birth announcements and the like, in case a later captain wants to reference them. We can stop the recording here, if you want.

BUFFET: I can… I can give the report, ma’am… [shuffles, static]- Ah, as far as the ship’s upkeep and maintenance, we have some worrying news for the longevity of the Gaia. Lead Mechanic Walton discovered the final replacement bolt for the dehumidification system. The final bolt… in the storage unit, I suppose. It’s funny. It’s such a small thing. The box that held them all was probably filled with hundreds at one point, when the Gaia launched, now it’s–

[static, coughing]

BUFFET: — just the one, Captain. 

PAGE: — yes, just the one. 

BUFFET: It’ll rust, eventually. Sooner rather than later. The dehumidification system will fail, then I suppose the whole interior will rust, then—

[static]

BUFFET: —then what?

[unintelligible]

PAGE: We’re keeping our heads down, trying not to mention anything to the crew or the passengers as we investigate possible replacements. Odds are, we’ll find some extra somewhere and it’ll be fine, but—

BUFFET: Captain?

PAGE: You can stop recording now, Buffet, there’s really no need. I’m sure there is a solution–

BUFFET: —There isn’t a solution, Captain. This is the third time that bolt has been replaced since you took the office of Captain. Even if we do find another spare, then what? 

[static crackle]

PAGE: Five years from now, I suppose it will need to be replaced again. Our engineers will—

BUFFET: —-will what? Create a new source of metal? Start stripping the inside of the ship? Figure out which rivets are the least important and use those?

PAGE: I don’t like to be fatalistic, Buffet. 

BUFFET: It’s our job to be fatalistic, then no one else has to be. 

[unintelligible, static crackling]

PAGE: We can survive a shortage, kid. We’ve done it before.

BUFFET: We ran out of cloth, Captain, not metal. We scraped together reeds and…and hair, like cavemen. You and I are the only ones still wearing completely cloth uniforms, the last ones from the storage unit.

PAGE: The engineers and technicians were creative then, they will be creative now. There’s no need—

BUFFET: Ma’am, this isn’t something we can grow in the hydroponics lab.

PAGE: We’re getting closer, Buffet, we only have to hold out—

BUFFET: Hold out till when?

 [sigh, static] 

PAGE: I suppose it’ll be… nice to stop pretending we can contact Earth, once things really start to unravel.

BUFFET: Going dark for a couple of years is normal, Captain, we’re likely on the other side of a star that interferes with the ship’s instruments. Captain, respectfully—

PAGE: Good God. Brin didn’t… Brin didn’t tell you?

[thump on table, beep of panel]

BUFFET: Former First Commander Brin served his position faithfully until my term this year, Captain. He disclosed only what was needed for me to continue in his role.

PAGE: Would you stop with the formalities, Buffet? No one’s listening.

BUFFET: Captain, respectfully, when these transmissions reach Earth, we may be speaking to a new civilization, and our decorum—

PAGE: No one. No one is listening.
[static, beeping]
Brin knew, he was the one who told me. Here, look, here’s his record of entry. No confirmed contact with Earth. 
[static, heavy breathing]
I’m sorry to be the one to tell you.

BUFFET: How long… how long has no one been listening, Captain? I- I mean to say, how long since confirmation of contact with Earth?

PAGE: Brin was told by former Captain Gates, Gates was told by former Captain Arnault, Arnault was told by Meyers, before that, Hilton…then, before that, I don’t know. Attempted transmissions before Hilton’s term are in deep storage… inaccessible. Even to me.

BUFFET: We…haven’t had contact with Earth in a century?

PAGE: Possibly longer, kid. I just make the attempted transmissions as a sort of… Captain’s log. A diary, almost. I just do the fun bit at the beginning and… deal with the reality off the record. Brin and I had fun with it. It wouldn’t do for command to not be seen contacting Earth. It would cause a panic.

BUFFET: I…. I….

PAGE: It’s a lot to take in. 

BUFFET: What is the oldest attempted transmission we have access to?

PAGE: [sigh, static] It isn’t anything helpful. I’ve tried.

BUFFET: Nearly four hundred years out here, and we haven’t had contact with Earth for… at least a quarter of that time?

PAGE: It’s nothing you or I can change.

BUFFET: Why do you think they’ve gone silent?

PAGE: My theories range. Odds are, though, if anyone is still in that Earth Command bunker, they’ve long since given up on us.

[static crackle, crosstalk]

BUFFET: Who else knows?

PAGE: Head of Engineering, uh… head of Agriculture… [sigh]... then you and me.

BUFFET: So what happens if something goes wrong? Who do we contact? What happens when our ship gets so old…

PAGE: We figure it out. We will find New Earth, Commander. 

[end transmission]







Personal Diary, Eve Buffet, Date 08012456-16:27
Transcribed Recording

I’m… I'm not sure what to tell my husband. Today was supposed to be my first day as First Commander. He was so proud of me, he… he made sure to straighten my collar before I left our quarters. I mean, it was my first day. That still happened. I’m just… trying to gather my thoughts. Before I go back, of course. I don’t want him to see me like this.

[sigh, static, shuffling noises]

I’m here in my new office. I always wanted a position in command when I was a girl. Somewhere with a window so I could watch the stars. Now I’m just grateful that it’s soundproof. No one can hear… no one can hear me talk my ass off to a stupid fucking microphone-!

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