Chapter 6

     Mr. Buster 3001 Ai10 Narration: At the height of the corruption on Earth 2050, humanity radically rebelled unlike anything previously on record. War was no longer found profitable as it became too widespread. Even the redevelopment industries dependent on wars were unable to acquire resources to build faster than the destruction was occurring. War was proven to be depletive and non-renewables nearly entirely vanished.

     Following Mass Exodus in 2050, a new form of self-containment for improved human behavior was achieved. On our ship Nomadia, no addictive behaviors went untreated and by 2225 all preventable diseases were eliminated altogether thanks to advances in technology.

     In the Orbital-Age human caused problems became dramatically reduced.  Solutions largely were coded into the parameters approved for human behavior.  Penalties for criminal violators were so severe that deviance was reduced to the lowest crime rates in known history.     

     Chairman E-Tom possessed the book of Amos, a holy book, that spoke of a time pre-Mass Exodus when the world tried to come together to combat terrorism, but failed. The book contains unsavory facts that humans are not innately kind as portrayed in the historical archives. The Naturals, through their use of oral traditions, kept the true accounts of the economic, environmental, and social collapses that originally pushed us off earth. This secret information is carefully guarded by the Empirical Guard and the Naturals in hopes humanity would never repeat the same mistakes. Both sides fear this information could compromise how the new generations develop on Earth.

     The Naturals plotted for years how to lessen dependency on Ai’s once the resettlement of the Earth begins. The resettlement of planet earth presents both land and resource opportunities. Humans find themselves facing competing interests in defining the new roles for humans and machines. The Universal Council is increasingly being pressured by Naturals to lessen the role of AI’s on Earth as the resettlement program is becoming activated.

Orientation Begins For Class 01 Selected for the first wave of New Earth’s Settlement

     Narrator II: Our story resumes on Sept 11, in the year 2524. Bustling intake room shows people moving through check-in scanning stations.  Leah grabs a seat next to Mister Buster. Mr. Buster gives a nod and Leah catches him gazing at her. She returns a polite smile before the lights dim and the Earth Re-entry presentation begins.

     Department Human Health Representative greats the class: “Greetings Class 01. You will be the first to return to New Earth following five hundred years of cleanup.  The Department of Human Health is pleased to report that Earth’s atmosphere, with few exceptions, now falls within allowable contamination ranges. Reportedly, life can germinate with minimal interventions.  AI-led restoration efforts have made sufficient progress. Research indicates it is time to begin assimilation back to New Earth. We are confident you will fulfill your assigned roles and achieve great success. Please have your boarding passes ready as we prepare to board.” (The lights fade in). 

     Mr. Buster jokingly says to Leah, “well that was barely long enough to finish the popcorn”….Leah smirks and says, “you don’t have any popcorn”. 

    Narrator: Everyone’s standing and gets into line to board as the gates open. Staff and Androids direct traffic with precision efficiency.

     Mr. Buster steps up behind Leah and says, “hey, wait up are you assigned to Sector 350? I think we’re in the same cohort. I’m Mr. Buster professor of history, you?”  Leah replies, “I’m Dr. Smith, but just call me Leah”.  Mr. Buster says, “Doctor. Wow, I feel safer already.”

     Leah snipingly replies, “not that kind of Doctor, I’m a biologist.” She continues half amused, “mostly I make sure the bots research checks out and we don’t all asphyxiate upon re-entry or die due to toxins no one’s detected”. They both chuckle. 

     Mr. Black: “yeah glamorous work”. Leah turns and issues a playful side-eye smile, then faces forward and steps as the line advances.

…later that same day. [image boarding vessel]

     Narrator: Boarding the ships for the first 10,000 settlers took hours. Traveling at light speed has been around for years so risks were considered minimal. Still, there was a quite nervousness among those boarding. For many, it was a somber goodbye - leaving loved ones behind to start a new life. The crew entered their chamber pods, scheduled to awaken after traveling 3 light-years.   

     Suddenly, alarms are blaring as the ship is making a dramatic entry into Earth’s atmosphere.  A malfunction in the landing gear caused a crash-landing.  During the height of the chaos, as passengers were instructed to brace for impact, Leah and Mr. Buster locked eyes. The craft barely was able to land and was severely damaged.  A cheering crowd exits as emergency crews are putting out a fire. Passengers are directed away from the craft and are checking in with android attendants that check their health status reports and then were directed to their new living quarters. 

     As Leah and Mr. Buster part ways exiting the vessel, Leah turns and says, “see ya around Professor”. Mr. Buster, still recovering from the shock of the landing -hesitates, searching for something clever to say. Flabbergasted, he smiles back.