If you had all of time and space to choose from where would you go? More importantly would you want to come back home to the welcoming embrace of your loved ones, to the familiar haunts of your childhood and to piping hot chocolate with melty marshmellows? Would you ever come home?
6011 AD:
The Milky Way was alive with activity; from afar it looked as if thousands of flickering stars had just materialized out of thin air. If one observed from a closer vantage point it became excruciatingly clear that these glittering pinpoints of light were not celestial creations but clearly man/alien-made. If one were to track the progress of this great armada of intergalactic vessels, it could be seen that the fleet was solely comprised of interstellar battle cruisers. Hundreds of variations of Class I star-destroyers with armed battle turrets, Class II nimbus floaters with their sleek but menacing weaponry and arc rangers with their impressive agility could be discerned to be among the ships. They descended like hundreds of bloodthirsty vampire bats blocking out the light from the sun. Disconcertingly this great battle fleet was converging on a small non-descript planet in the solar system, fanning out over the surface area of the planet but keeping a respectful distance from the red-glowing atmosphere. Once the fleet was in place a command was relayed from the lead vessel to the entire fleet. It had begun……
Transmissions flowed effortlessly from one ship to the other; the signal amplified over a million fold was relayed into the furthest reaches of the universe and to the hundreds of thousands of people manning the starships. Images and sounds depicting the fall of the planet beneath them resonated out into deep space. A kaleidoscope of fragmented imagery - a devastating nuclear war, destruction of civilizations, land and seas polluted by nuclear radiation, barren landscapes, towns and cities razed to the ground, a planet in deep distress emanating nuclear radiation.
All this had happened exactly two centuries ago- for this fleet was no battle armada, no great warriors manned these ships - these people included the last vestiges of the human race, the descendents of all those who had survived the self-inflicted Armageddon. With them had gathered the alien races that had welcomed and befriended these survivors. The images passed and the prayers began. Deep into space they resonated, prayers from all faiths, all religions human and alien. Flowers were passed around, strange alien flowers not borne of any earthly soil, bread was broken, sweets and fruit were handed out, bells were rung and prayers were chanted. Unbidden the prayers were recited by all regardless of faith, caste, creed or religion. Among them could be heard strong and resilient “Ye devi sarvabhuteshu, shakti rupena, samshthita, namasteshwai, namo namaha” loosely translated “ Salutations to the great goddess (mother earth) who abides in all beings, as the form of all strength, we bow to you”. For on this day exactly 200 years ago the planet Earth had fallen………
Now let me ask you one more time: If you had all of time and space to choose from where would you go if you couldn’t come back home ever again?