Amidst the Stars

Buried beneath the sands of time, and somewhere amongst the farthest flung stars, an unlikely series of coincidences occurred. Perhaps it could have been expected, in this infinite universe, that something like this could happen. And perhaps, with such infinitesimal odds, it'd be better to expect it to not. But regardless of the presumption of mere humans, or the rigor of statistics or the "laws" of physics, happen it did. The exacting collisions of the dust of dead stars, gases crossing the void only to end up just here, just now. A soup of forming bonds. Hydrocarbon chains, not uncommon in space on a large enough scale, but not at such lengths, not in such concentrations. First the formation of cellulose, then the arrangement of that cellulose into what a box. A box, that had it been instead formed at a specific future, on a specific planet, be a wholly unremarkable box of corrugated cardboard. Slightly scuffed around the corners without ever having touched any other thing, suspended as it was in that endless expanse. Slightly fuzzed around the edges in that way of old or well traveled boxes, and yet newly formed. That perfect patina, looking almost oil soaked around the edges and corners, fading to near manila in the middle of each side. Unremarkable, but for the fact that it was at that spot and in that time.

Upon the box, as equally unremarkable and wholly astounding, lay a printed label. A specific formulation of sticky backing and ink that would not be seen again until the gulf of millennia had been reduced to less than a puddle. Careful lettering spelled out a recipient:

Adam F. Carter

℅ Space

11'32" W, 34'27" N, 51'49" U

The Lesser Tarantini Quadrant

At the time, one must realize, these were meaningless carbon squiggles, a bizarre assortment of smears. It wasn’t until some Phoenicians got a funny idea in their heads, some eons after, that these became of any import.

And now, perched upon the final grains in the hourglass, with the descendants of those stars reeled in close, came an explorer. A human cast adrift in a cosmos much less infinite than it had been just a few hundred short years before. Out here to explore the outer reaches! ...for the company that employed them. With a weary sigh (we’d say world weary, but Adam hadn’t seen a proper world since shortly after his birth and subsequent compulsory employment opportunity), Adam scanned the monitors. Of no surprise to the educated individual, or, for that matter, Adam, the scanners indicated a vast selection of nothing. Empty space, no matter. Of course, that was what was the matter, as Adam wouldn’t be paid unless he found something. He was out here, on the back edge of nowhere, in the last unexplored quadrant of this god forsaken universe, in the hopes that he could maybe find some final rogue planetoid out amidst the black. He knew the impossibility of it, that the numbers had been crunched time and again, but he went where the company willed. So here he was.

As such things have a habit of doing, it was while Adam was asleep that the notifications chimed that something had been found. Rubbing sleep from his eyes, Adam pulled a monitor close. The cramped cockpit served as bedroom, mess, shower and command center. The company was nothing if not efficient. And so, wiping a few stray suds (or perhaps rehydrated mashed potato substitute?) off the corner of the screen, Adam studied the readout.

10 Kilograms

30 cm x 30 cm x 30 cm

Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Additional Trace Elements

Even on reading the first line, he was collapsing back into the chair. Ten kilos wasn’t going to get him much of a bonus, even out here. But the elemental composition was certainly unusual, and so he pressed a button, started an automated collection program and drifted back off to sleep. It could wait until he was back on the clock.

The next morning came, of course with no sunrise to herald it, so the cockpit lights just flashed to full brightness. A comfortable undimming was a premium feature that Adam did not have the funds to purchase. The smell of lukewarm synthetic coffee substitute (now in appetizing gray!) and scrambled eggs (dehydrated for travel, rehydrated for cooking, then overcooked enough to be as dry as they were to start) was enough to make Adam’s stomach rumble, in that way where he wasn’t sure if he could keep down his previous meal. But he choked the contents down as he perused his morning mail. Corporate propaganda, get rich quick schemes, the usual. With a sigh, he pulled up the camera of the cargo bay. It was comical, really, the tiny box floating in the hangar sized space. Comical, but for the fact that it was a very manmade looking box in a very unexplored piece of space. Suddenly, Adam couldn’t help but imagine big money signs filling the rest of the hold. For the first time, Adam pulled the cheap space suit off its hook and descended the ladder. He had cargo to inspect.

It was with a mixture of disbelief and horror that Adam looked at the box. His name and current position, printed cleanly. With hands he felt entirely not in control of, he gently pulled the tape free, the flaps opening with a soft puff of air. Nonsense, as no cardboard box is air tight enough to survive the vacuum of space, but he swore it was what happened. Inside was another box. Still cardboard, but with the slick, colorful look of ink saturated paper. The colorful graphics proclaimed “Your Universe in a Box! A Fantastic Project for All and Across All Ages! Contents: One Big Bang!” Unable to stop himself, Adam pulled back the lid. Inside lay a solid, silvery button. Reaching out, his fingers caressed the button, it slid back into its housing with the barest resistance, a click rising up through his gloves, into his hands and arms and…

...Buried beneath the sands of time, and somewhere amongst the farthest flung stars, an unlikely series of coincidences occurred.