The year is 2154. You’ve just awoken from your 100 year slumber, the first to awaken from the 2 million people who joined you on the Mayflower. You are on Mars, and the captain is waiting for you.

I groggily opened my eyes, straining my vision in the dim light of my cryo chamber. I blinked a few times, the lights slowly coming into focus. The image of my wife and kids entered my head, only for a bolt of sadness to hit me. They’re back on earth. I might never see them again. 100 years had passed, and I could have missed their entire lives. I slowly reached my hand over to the button, my arms heavy with the weight of my own muscles. I slid my finger across the button, and the hiss of air and the whir of machinery filled the room. My cryo chamber slowly lifted itself upwards, and I slid out of it, landing on my knees. I sat on the cold floor, my head spinning and pounding. I tried to stand up, but the effort sent me stumbling backwards to the ground. I groaned, holding my head in my hands. Suddenly, a gentle hand was placed on my shoulder, and a soft voice rang out. “Hey, is everything alright?” It was the captain’s voice. I struggled to my feet, and stumbled into the wall. “Hey, I’m alright. Sorry.” I brushed myself off, and looked at the captain. He looked old. I saw his wrinkles for the first time, his graying hair was starting to fall out, and his teeth had become yellow. I looked at his hand, and it was covered in wrinkles. “Is there something wrong, officer?” He asked, looking concerned. “You look old.” I said, extending my hand to point at him. He looked at my hand, then back at me, and he laughed. It was a wheezy laugh, and I saw a glimmer of sadness in his eyes. “I am old. I’m 130.” I looked at him in horror. “130 years old?” I asked. He grinned, showing his yellowed teeth. “Yes sir. I’m actually the only one still alive.” I looked at him in horror. “You’re the only one alive?” I ask, a shiver running down my spine. “Yes sir. Everyone else-” “Why am I awake? Is something wrong?” I asked, my heart pounding. “Yes sir. There’s an emergency. We need your full attention.” I nodded, and he led me out of the cryo bay. I walked through the Mayflower in silence, the captain silent as well. He opened a door, and led me into a room. It was a simple room, with a small table and four chairs. On the table was a small screen, and a button. He gestured to the chair across from him, and sat down. I did the same. “Alright, sir. This is the situation. We’ve reached Mars. You know that.” I nodded. “Well, this is bad. When we got here, we were hit with a massive asteroid. It’s destroyed half of the ship, and killed at least 100,000 of the passengers.” I felt like I’d been punched in the gut. “100,000?” I ask, dumbfounded. He nodded. “Yes sir. We’re down to 1,900,000 people. An eighth of that is either injured or dead.” I felt like I wanted to throw up. “An eighth? You mean 225,000 are either dead or injured?” He nodded. “Yes. The core of the ship, along with parts of the front of the ship are destroyed. Luckily, this happened when almost all of you were asleep. It would’ve been catastrophic otherwise.” I nodded, feeling a lump in my throat. “So what’s the plan?” I ask, knowing I’m a part of it. “Well, we have one of the landing pods still intact. It can hold 1500 people, along with 200 tons of cargo. We can use this pod to put some of your people on the planet.” He gestured to the screen and button. “The emergency kit is a device that we will send to Mars with the pod. It will be a tower. It will begin to release oxygen into the atmosphere, until the planet is habitable. This will allow us to start a colony on Mars. The kit will also release spores. These spores will grow plants, eventually. The kit will also build a structure, for the passengers to live in. Once they wake up, they can start their new lives.” I nodded, reaching out for the button. “But sir, you need to know, this is a one way ticket. There’s no way you can come back to earth.” I held the button, my thumb hovering over it. “I know. That’s fine.” “Secondly, this will use up the last of our fuel. We will never be able to get to another planet, or come back to earth.” I nodded, my hand trembling. “Thirdly, the pod can only hold a few people. We need to make sure that the chances of someone waking up as you did are non-existent.” I sighed, my hand hovering over the button. “Fourthly, this pod must be manually overridden when it reaches the planet. We’ll need to send someone with it.” I looked up at the captain. “I can’t do this. I’m too old.” He said, a tear running down his eye. I looked back at the button. “I understand. I’ll do it.” I said, my voice shaking. The captain smiled. “Thank you.” I brought my thumb down on the button, and a hiss of machinery filled the room. The captain stood up, and walked out of the room. I sat in silence for a few minutes. Then, I stood up, and walked out of the room. I followed the signs to the landing bay, and walked in. An employee handed me a space suit, and I put it on. The captain walked up to me, and he looked at me in the eyes. “I’m sorry, sir.” I said, looking away from him. “Sir, I’m the one who’s sorry. You will most likely never see your family again. You’ve given your life for the survival of the human race.” “I know.” I said, turning back to him. “Thank you, sir.” He said, and he saluted. I saluted back, and he turned around. “Captain?” I ask. “Yes?” he asked, turning back. “When they wake up the rest of the crew, give them this message.” I said, a smile spreading across my face. “What is it?” He asked. “Infinite possibility awaits them at the end of their fingers.” I said, and he nodded. He turned around, and I walked into the landing bay. I climbed into the landing pod, and strapped myself in. An employee handed me a piece of paper, and I unfolded it. On it was a poem. It was poem that I wrote one day, and now I had an infinite number of chances to make it come true. The hatch closed, and the landing pod lifted off. I felt the rumble of the blast thrusters, and the ship began to move away from me. I looked back, and I saw the captain. He waved, and I waved back. “Sir, we’re reaching the atmosphere.” An employee said. I nodded. “Thank you.” I said, watching the Mayflower disappear into the void. I looked back at the paper, and I read the poem. “Endless worlds to explore, endless possibilities.” It read. I sighed, and I felt the landing pod shake. “I don’t think that’s true.” I said to myself, and I folded the paper back up.

The year is 2154. You’ve just awoken from your 100 year slumber, the first to awaken from the 2 million people who joined you on the Mayflower. You are on Mars, and the captain is waiting for you.

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