The Loneliest Girl in the Universe
Lauren James
For all the girls who’ve never felt brave enough to be the hero in an adventure story
Life is very much more exciting now than it used to be. You see I have something more to expect, to look forward to, to watch.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper
LIFT-OFF FOR FIRST MANNED INTERSTELLAR SHIP
26/06/2048 | CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA, USA
Early yesterday morning, NASA successfully launched the first ever manned spacecraft destined to travel to a different star system.
The spacecraft, named The Infinity, is projected to reach the star system Alpha Centauri in less than fifty years, where it will enter orbit around Planet HT 3485 c. This exoplanet has a 99.999 per cent probability of being habitable, making it the highest scored planet outside our solar system.
The Infinity is the result of billions of dollars of investment into solar sail technology. Space travel using this method of propulsion allows the craft to accelerate to the previously impossible velocity of 0.09 light years.
Current calculations predict that The Infinity will reach Planet HT 3485 c in early 2092. Once in orbit around the planet, The Infinity will begin eighteen months of analysis to determine whether the planet’s surface can safely support human life.
If Planet HT 3485 c is deemed unsuitable, The Infinity will continue onwards to the nearest star system predicted to have an above 99.99 per cent chance of habitability.
The main mission of The Infinity is stated by NASA as being to “guarantee the long-term survival of the human race, by founding extra-terrestrial communities outside of planet Earth”.
The crew of The Infinity were chosen in a gruelling decade-long application process which analysed every aspect of their personal and genetic history. This screening process was followed by five years of intense NASA training.
The Infinity will officially pass out of our solar system at 22.54 EST tomorrow.
? Check back for live minute-by-minute updates on the launch.
? Click here to learn more about the crew of The Infinity or follow their journey via the official The Infinity social media accounts.
? Don’t forget to register to vote in the global referendum to name Planet HT 3485 c.
? Read about the new commercial stasis service that is promising to help civilians live long enough to see The Infinity land on Planet HT 3485 c.
DAYS SINCE THE INFINITY LEFT EARTH:
6817
I’m reading fanfiction in my pyjamas when I hear a nightmarish sound: the emergency alarm. Pulling an oxygen mask out of the nearest wall panel, I sprint to the helm with my heart in my throat. There’s a glowing red message on the screen, which reads:
ASTEROID COLLISION IMMINENT
AUTOMATIC TRAJECTORY ADJUSTMENT FAILED
ENGAGE MANUAL CONTROL
I’m abruptly filled with complete and utter fear. The guidance system has crashed. I need to take manual control, otherwise we’re going to be hit by an asteroid within the next few minutes.
For what must be the millionth time, I wish that Dad was here to help. I try to calm down, taking slow, steady breaths as I tell myself that I’m brave and strong enough to do this – and even if that’s not true, I have no choice but to do it anyway.
There’s no time to panic, no time to do anything except go. My attention narrows. This is something I’ve practised: I’ve been in simulations using force propulsion to minutely adjust the course of the ship since I could count. Dad trained me to operate the emergency program in case there was a problem that he couldn’t take control of himself. He joked that if there was ever an emergency before 7 a.m., I would have to deal with it because he wasn’t giving up his lie-in.
I do exactly what I’ve practised in the simulations, and use the joystick to line up the thrusters with the propulsion metrics on the screen.
The Infinity is travelling too fast to slow down much, but a minute adjustment of direction is all that’s needed to make sure the asteroid misses us, if only by an arm’s length. I check and agree to the trajectory angle calculated by the computer and initiate the adjustment.
I watch the screen, waiting. Outside the ship, precious fuel is being used to shoot nanoparticles into space. The force of the blast into the vacuum of space will turn the ship and change the trajectory – or at least, it’s supposed to. I have no idea if it’s working. If for some reason the propulsion thrusters don’t work, or they respond too slowly, we could fly right into the asteroid.
I just have to hold on, and hope the ship can move in time.
Minutes pass.
Eventually, when I’ve long since started to brace myself for bad news or a horrific explosion, the alarm dies down and the screen clears.
COLLISION AVOIDED
I sigh in relief. By the time the asteroid nears The Infinity, our course will have been adjusted just enough that we narrowly pass each other.
I run to the nearest porthole to watch, hopping from foot to foot. It’s coming too close – impossibly close. Glimmers of metal catch the light in the rough, uneven surface of the rock. Its shadow reaches me first, passing over the porthole and casting me into darkness as the asteroid approaches. For a second, I think that the computer must have calculated the angles wrong. It looks like the asteroid is flying directly at The Infinity. It’s going to crash straight into the fragile hull of my ship, crushing everything in its path. It’s going to destroy me. It’s going to—
Every single muscle in my body tenses in panic, a tight knot spreading from my neck down my spine as I brace for the impact. I watch, wide-eyed, as the asteroid flies past the bulkhead in a graceful swoop.
There is no explosion, no crush of metal as the ship disintegrates against the rock. Instead there’s a wonderful silence as the side of the asteroid fills the porthole for two heartbeats. There’s enough time for me to see craters in the dull brown rock, marks left from millions of years of impacts.
The breath leaves my lungs without me noticing. Then the asteroid is gone, disappearing in the wake of the ship, falling off into deep space once more.
I throw my head back and spin in a circle, overwhelmed with joy. I did it. I managed to control my worrying long enough to get the job done. I knew what to do and I did it!
It’s only when the asteroid is a speck in the darkness, hidden among the bright stars, that I realize I’ve developed a raging headache.