Project Edenfall

Chapter One: The Last Dawn

The year was 2147. Earth had become a wasteland.

What once had been oceans glittering blue had turned into vast deserts of cracked salt and poisoned sludge. Forests that had breathed life into the world were nothing more than blackened skeletons, burnt away by relentless heat and wildfires. The sky hung heavy with ash, hiding the stars that once guided humanity.

Civilizations had collapsed decades earlier under the weight of famine, war, and disease. A few governments remained, clinging to power through military might. But most of humanity existed in scattered settlements, surviving on scraps of technology and dwindling resources.

In this broken world, whispers spread of a secret initiative—Project Edenfall.

It was said to be humanity’s final hope: a plan designed by the last coalition of scientists and leaders before the collapse. Edenfall promised escape from the dying Earth, a new beginning among the stars. Not many knew the details, only that somewhere in the remnants of North America, a launch facility was being prepared.

For Kael Ardent, a former soldier turned wanderer, the rumor of Edenfall was nothing more than a fairy tale—until he found the notebook.

It was buried under rubble in the ruins of Denver, inside what had once been a research facility. The notebook contained coordinates, sketches of ships, and one chilling line scrawled in red:

“Edenfall is not salvation. It is exile.”


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Chapter Two: The Survivors

Kael was not alone. He traveled with a small band of survivors he had sworn to protect:

Lira, a brilliant but disillusioned engineer whose family had died in the water riots.

Jonas, a cynical scavenger who trusted no one but his knife.

Mira, a child no older than ten, whom Kael had rescued from a raider camp.


When Kael shared the notebook with them, the reactions were mixed.

“Coordinates?” Lira whispered, scanning the faded ink. “If these are real, then Edenfall isn’t a myth. It exists.”

“Or it’s bait,” Jonas muttered. “A trap. You think the people who built this thing would share it with the rest of us?”

Kael clenched his jaw. “I don’t care what it is. If there’s a chance—any chance—for Mira to have a future, we’re taking it.”

That night, as the wind howled across the dead plains, Mira asked him softly, “Kael, will Edenfall save us?”

He didn’t answer.


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Chapter Three: The Journey to Edenfall

The path to the coordinates was brutal.

They crossed scorched highways littered with rusted vehicles, skeletal remains of families who had never escaped. They scavenged from ruins, fighting off raiders who hunted the weak like wolves. At night, they huddled together, listening to the earth groan under shifting tectonic scars.

Lira kept studying the notebook. She grew increasingly disturbed. “Kael… look at these diagrams. Edenfall isn’t just a ship. It’s an ark. But the life-support numbers don’t add up. It’s not designed for millions—barely a fraction of humanity could fit.”

Jonas snorted. “Figures. The rich and powerful get to live. The rest of us rot.”

Kael stayed silent, but a seed of unease took root in him.

Weeks later, after endless hardship, they reached the site. It was hidden in the mountains of Colorado, beneath a fortress of steel and concrete. A massive hangar yawned open before them, inside of which stood the vessel: a colossal ark-ship, sleek and silver, its name etched across its hull—EDENFALL.

For a moment, even Kael felt awe. Salvation looked real.

Until they saw the soldiers.


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Chapter Four: The Truth of Edenfall

Armed guards in black armor patrolled the facility. Kael’s group was quickly captured and dragged inside. Instead of being executed, they were taken to a chamber where a woman in pristine white waited.

“I am Dr. Seraphine Vale,” she introduced herself. “Chief architect of Edenfall.”

Kael demanded answers. “Is this ship leaving Earth?”

“Yes,” she replied calmly. “It is humanity’s last chance.”

Lira stepped forward. “But this ship can’t carry everyone. The numbers—”

“Correct,” Dr. Vale interrupted. “Only fifty thousand can be taken. The brightest, strongest, most useful. Humanity will be reborn elsewhere.”

Jonas spat on the floor. “So the rest of us die.”

Dr. Vale’s eyes hardened. “Humanity is already dying. Edenfall is not for everyone—it is for survival.”

But then Kael remembered the note: Edenfall is not salvation. It is exile.

He pressed. “Where is this ship going? A new planet?”

Dr. Vale hesitated. Then, with a strange detachment, she admitted, “No habitable planet has been found. Edenfall is programmed for deep stasis. The passengers will drift… until something is found. Years. Centuries. Millennia, if necessary.”

Lira’s face paled. “That’s not salvation. That’s sending people to die in the dark.”

“Not die,” Dr. Vale corrected. “Sleep. They will be preserved, while the rest of humanity perishes here. One day, they may awaken to a new world.”

Kael realized the truth: Edenfall wasn’t hope. It was abandonment. A handful chosen to carry humanity’s legacy, while billions were left behind.


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Chapter Five: The Rebellion

That night, imprisoned in a holding cell, the group argued.

“We can’t let them do this,” Lira said fiercely. “This isn’t salvation—it’s betrayal.”

Jonas growled, “What do you expect us to do? Fight an army? Blow up the ship?”

Kael looked at Mira, asleep in his arms, her small face peaceful despite the nightmare world around her. He knew the answer.

“We don’t destroy Edenfall,” he said slowly. “We take it. If humanity’s going to survive, it won’t be just the powerful. It’ll be all of us, or none of us.”

The plan was madness, but desperation breeds courage.

Over the next days, they worked quietly, exploiting weaknesses in their captors’ routines. Lira hacked into consoles, Jonas bribed guards with stolen rations, Kael memorized patrol schedules.

When the launch countdown began, they struck.


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Chapter Six: Edenfall’s Shadow

Explosions rocked the facility as alarms blared. Kael and his group fought through chaos, freeing prisoners—ordinary people who had been rejected from the selection process. Together, they stormed the hangar.

Dr. Vale confronted Kael at the foot of the ship.

“You’re condemning humanity!” she shouted over the roar of engines.

“No,” Kael retorted. “I’m saving it. All of it.”

They clashed, soldiers against rebels, gunfire echoing through steel halls. Mira clung to Lira’s hand, eyes wide with terror.

At last, Kael reached the control deck. He input new commands, overriding Edenfall’s systems. Not just fifty thousand—the ship’s resources were redistributed, compressed. It would mean hardship, but more could survive. Not just elites. Families. Children. Survivors.

As the engines ignited, Kael spoke into the intercom:

“This ship no longer belongs to the few. It belongs to everyone. We are all humanity’s last chance.”

The ark roared to life, breaking free of Earth’s poisoned sky.


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Chapter Seven: Beyond the Stars

Inside the ship, thousands of voices murmured prayers, cries, and disbelief. For the first time in decades, hope flickered.

Kael stood by the viewport, watching Earth shrink into the distance. The planet was broken, burning, but it was still home. His chest ached as he realized he might never see it again.

Lira came to his side. “Do you think we’ll find another world?”

Kael took a long breath. “I don’t know. But we’ll find something. Because this time, it won’t just be survival for the powerful. It’ll be survival for everyone.”

Behind them, Mira pressed her face to the glass, eyes wide with wonder. For her, there was no grief—only the promise of stars.

And in that moment, Kael believed.


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Moral of the Story

Hope cannot belong to the few. When survival is built on exclusion and betrayal, it ceases to be hope at all. True salvation lies in unity—when humanity chooses to