The Unplace
“The limits of the possible can only be defined by going beyond them into the impossible.” — Arthur C. Clarke
Surrounded by the cold emptiness of the vast cosmos, Commander Tom soared weightlessly inside his small metallic spacecraft, resembling a tiny fishing boat adrift in the heart of the Pacific, propelled by turbulent waves. The spacecraft served as both his eternal home and prison, where he had no concept of when he would reach his destination, situated over a hundred light-years away.
In the year 2300, we confirmed the existence of a planet named KS200 orbiting around a red giant star. All data collected indicated that it was the sole opportunity for escape, boasting an atmosphere eerily similar to our dying Earth. Thus, the only solution was to select a mission to explore this planet and verify its suitability for life.
Commander Tom, accompanied by his team consisting of Sarah Beloved, an astronaut and botanist; physicist Michael Morris, leading the physical aspects of the mission and analyzing space data; chemist Moran Loren, examining the chemical composition to ensure soil integrity and natural resources; and as the mechanical engineer, Isaac Imad responsible for the maintenance and operation of spacecraft devices, contributing to the mission’s continuity and success. The pioneering mission gathered experts from various fields to achieve its goal of confirming the viability of the new environment for life.
Without a hint of hesitation, he embraced the call of the one-way journey. After years of solitude on Earth, the vast emptiness of space failed to instill any fear within him. Why be troubled by solitude when surrounded by the cosmic expanse? Purposefully striding alongside his crew, he led a band of intrepid explorers on a quest toward a new destination in human history, united in their commitment to unravel the mysteries of KS200. Little did they know, the formidable price awaiting them in return remained shrouded in oblivion…
In interstellar travel, years transformed into decades of profound stillness and stability as their spacecraft sailed across the cosmic ocean. A mere two million miles away from Tom’s spacecraft, a colossal explosion shattered the cosmic silence, marking the tragic demise of a giant star as its heart ceased to beat, collapsing in on itself with catastrophic finality. The cosmic aftermath unleashed a tempest of destruction — a colossal explosion of such immense proportions that the very fabric of space quivered in dread. A wave of incandescent fury, a torrent of violent nuclear radiation, swept past Tom and his crew, propelling them into a stellar storm, a cosmic deity of forces that lingered at the outer limits of comprehension.
Here, the flickering spark of excitement that had once illuminated their journey began to dim. Tom awoke abruptly, jolted by a temporary power outage. As consciousness returned, a haunting silence enveloped him, shattered only by the echoes of his own breath. The deep sleep chambers, once cocooning his comrades, now lay still and lifeless. Communication with Earth, the lifeline connecting them to the distant home they had left behind, was severed by the relentless hands of malfunction.
Alone, surrounded by the lifeless remnants of the crew that had shared in the cosmic odyssey, Tom found himself in a desolate expanse. His companions, once vibrant with purpose, now lay motionless, lost to the ceaseless march of malfunctioning machinery. He attempted to repair the malfunctions hundreds of times until his mind fragmented. Each futile attempt to mend the shattered links binding him to survival became a mournful requiem for the lost souls who had journeyed with him.
Isolation and insanity, like relentless specters, clung to Tom, casting their long, cold shadows over the desolation that now enveloped his once-promising mission. The solitary survivor, burdened by the crushing realization that he alone bore witness to the tragic end of their interstellar quest.
Endless clock, his hair turned gray, his face wrinkled, and he no longer felt hunger or thirst. Moments stretched into epochs, and epochs became fleeting instants, to the extent that his understanding of time itself oscillated in his mind, unsure if years or centuries had passed since leaving Earth.
“What happened here?” A figure, not quite human but strangely familiar, asked as it sat in front of Tom on his bed.
Tom began to cry, the tears pausing momentarily to be replaced by unsettling calm. “My crew has been gone; I don’t know for how long! The stasis chambers malfunctioned, and I don’t know if we’re getting closer or farther away.”
“Who sent you? Didn’t they tell you, Tom?”
“Tell me what?” Tom’s face began to twitch beneath his left eye.
In a corner of the room, matter began to change its shape, taking various forms until it became ethereal. Tom felt as if he were drifting through space without a spacecraft. Fear pierced his heart, and the hum of the machines echoed the resonance of his isolation. The stars, once a breathtaking sight, now seemed like distant memories of a life left behind. With each glimpse of the stars, he wondered, “Have you witnessed the disappearance of humanity?” It was then that, amid the vastness of deep space, he saw a familiar blue planet, evoking tears of yearning and nostalgia for home.
He raised his hand to point toward the blue planet. “Could survival have been possible? Were there any remnants of humanity wandering somewhere between the planets, or am I the sole survivor of Earth’s demise?” He laughed maniacally. “Survivor? Quite amusing.”
Doubts and unending questions overwhelmed him, offering a solitary solace to Commander Tom when he deceived himself into nearing the pinnacle of his mission — the same goals that propelled him into the void.
In the final moments, as his spacecraft glided through the cosmos like a lone teardrop, Tom pondered the sacrifices made in the pursuit of knowledge. Had humanity achieved its objectives? At what cost?
The void of space reflected the emptiness within him, and the silence of the universe mirrored his solitude.
No farewells were exchanged, and no goodbyes were uttered with tears. He did not know if he was approaching his destination or not, whether humanity still stood somewhere waiting for his mission or if humanity had ceased to exist. He wrote with his hand the last words of a human script. “I am the last human alive, or the only human in the universe.”
