Until we see you again

Lewis stood in the star-port, waiting to board the ship that would take him off-world, and wondered whether he was making the right decision.

The port was heavily crowded with people, all talking, shouting, laughing, and acting very human. Curiosity, excitement, and anxiety seemed to flow throughout the large area. High above them and connected to the glass ceiling were several flights travelling to cities across the Earth and colonies over the Moon. Outside the dome they were currently in were thick, grey clouds blocking out the surface below.

“What do you think it'll feel like to walk on grass?”

A conversation between a few kids dressed in overcoats and woollen beanies took Lewis' attention. Each was dressed in similar coats and woollen beanies. Their parents were busy talking to each other, so the children were left to the crucial thoughts of youth.

“I hear it’s like being tickled on your feet!” One of the kids shouted.

“I don’t like to be tickled!” another responded.

“No! It’s soft. It feels like you’re floating.” A young girl stated.

“How would you know? You’ve never stood on grass before!” one of the boys pushed her.

“There’s grass in the courtyard!” the girl responded.

“That grass is ‘Ar-ki-fishal’.” One of the boys proudly stated. Lewis stifled a laugh at the boy's attempt at the word ‘Artificial’.

“Yeah! Nobody knows what real grass feels like.” A different girl supported the boy's statement.

“My Grandfather does! That’s how he knows!” The first young girl shouted at the group.

“You’re a liar! Nobody’s ever been on the Surface!”

The conversation turned to incoherent shouting as Lewis’ attention was again drawn to the grey clouds outside as he lingered on the children’s chatter. Of all the statements they had shouted at each other, one had been faithful; It had been generations since anyone had walked on the planet’s surface.

The fact that he had grown up as a Sky-Dweller was one of the reasons Lewis had applied for the Prosperity Project. He had lived off his great-grandfather’s stories, which had been told to him by his grandfather. Stories that once humans had walked upon the surface, grown produce directly from the ground rather than the fabricated food humanity had survived on for generations. As a child, they had been wonderful stories to hear, and as an adult, he had continued to dream about what it would be like to take a step onto the ground.

The Prosperity Project had soon grown as a way not just for humanity to survive the overpopulation crisis but also to take their place across the stars finally. They had temporarily avoided the impending doom by creating stations all across the Earth’s Moon, upon which the Project had set up dozens of colonies. But the Project had known since the first day that to survive, they would need an entirely new planet.

“Attention.”

Lewis snapped out of his thoughts as he listened to the calm, cooling voice echoing throughout the port, “All passengers for the non-stop flight to the Planet Iterum on the Unified Council Command Star-Ship: Segunda, we will begin boarding in ten minutes. Please begin to make your way to Boarding Gate One.”

While others began to shuffle their way towards the boarding gate, Lewis waited as he looked out the window at the massive starship. It looked imposing compared to the smaller sky-ships across the other ports. Lewis remembered the briefing he had attended just a few days before. A short, fierce woman had told the crowd that despite humanity's advancements in space travel, they would still not see the planet for at least ten years. Lewis had read that cryogenic chambers felt like nothing more than going to sleep. He was yet to believe that.

Lewis tapped his fingers together. At once, his vision slightly changed to feature a HUD complete with time, weather, calendar, letters, and any missed calls. Smirking at the calendar event that read ‘D-Day’, he glanced back at the call log to see if anyone had left him a letter. Seeing that his last message had been a few days ago, Lewis sighed before tapping his fingers again. At once, a list of contacts appeared on his right-hand side. Lewis navigated through his contact list by tapping his fingers together until he found the person he was looking for. Tapping his index finger again, he started a video call.

“On your left.”

His eyes widened at the quote from one of his favourite classical movies; Lewis turned to face the person he attempted to call. Tapping his fingers together one last time, his vision returned to normal as he embraced the large man dressed in a black coat, scarf, and flat cap.

“Joshua! I didn’t think you were going to make it!”

“We decided to come as a group.” Joshua turned and faced a somewhat vast crowd. Lewis' eyes widened at the group of friends that had become his family: A short-haired man whose smile shone through his heavy beard. Three sisters with long, brown hair and glasses were all beaming at him. A tall, thin man was trying to hide the pride on his face. A short-haired friend who was occasionally distracted by the crowds and the sky-ships outside. A woman with a blonde ponytail, glasses, and a large grin.

Finally, a woman that was slightly taller than Joshua embraced Lewis. She was also wearing glasses, had long, cherry-black hair, and was dressed in casual attire, except for a purple coat that matched Joshua’s length.

“Sara! You made it as well!”

“You think I was going to miss this?” Sara responded as the two broke their hug before Sara slipped her hand into Joshua’s.

“Nothing was going to keep us from this," Joshua stated, and Lewis nodded his head before walking over to the group.

Emotions were shared amongst the group. The group seemed to rival the noise of the entire port as they wished Lewis the best on his trip to the new world. The more they hugged, cried, joked, and laughed, the more Lewis knew he was making the right decision. He wanted something better for his friends. He wanted them to experience what the children had dreamed. To one day be able to do all of this on the grass.

“We got you something.”

Lewis snapped out of his thoughts and looked towards Sara, holding a carefully wrapped present. Taking it with a word of thanks, Lewis unwrapped the gift and stared at the plush toy. His eyes welled up as he knew what it was.

“The Project; it’s meant to be using archived genomes to clone animals that once lived on Earth, right? Well, I know that this one was your favourite, and until they have them roaming Iterum, this should keep you company.”

The present was a bee, a once plentiful insect, now extinct. Lewis had read stories on how vital the creature had been to the Earth’s ecosystem before most of it had risen into the skies and become primarily artificial. It was one of the reasons why they were his favourite. Another was that, according to his ancestors, fake honey tasted nothing like natural honey.

“This is…Thank you.” Lewis smiled as he gave her another hug.

A final call sounded over the P.A. for his flight as he looked over his friends. Once again, Lewis felt a tear well up in his eyes. Wiping them away with the back of his hand, he ensured he hugged every one of his friends as long as he could. Finally, he broke his embrace with Joshua as he, too, wiped away the tears in his eyes before he said, “Auf Wiedersehen, Freund.”

“Till I see you again, friend.” Lewis smiled back, clearing his tears before turning, adjusting his bag, and moving towards the floating gangplank.

Crossing with the crowd towards the starship, Lewis approached an official-looking guard who requested that he place his hand on a glass panel for verification. Lewis put his hand on the glass tablet. A few seconds later, he was given the green light to continue. Taking one final moment, he turned and waved to the family he had found. Knowing that they would be on the same planet the next time he saw them, he turned back and stepped into the ship.

As Lewis was escorted through the long corridors, down the escalator, and finally through a row of what could only be described as glass coffins, he kept ahold of the plush bee. The starship coordinator instructed Lewis to enter as he stepped inside. As Lewis watched the doors being closed, he heard a sound echo indicating that the coffin had been sealed. Taking a deep breath, he held onto the memories of his friends, the excitement of the new world, and the thought that what was once lost would be found. As he slowly drifted off to sleep, he knew that his adventure was only just beginning.