Like a bullet traveling at thirty times the speed of light, Commander Deena Larson's spacecraft shot through the void of space. Because of the limited space for food and other supplies, Deena was alone on the ship.
Her destination was the exoplanet "Omega." Omega had been discovered seven years previously and was about five light-years from Earth. A consensus of Astrophysicists had determined that Omega had all of the conditions necessary for life.
All of the qualified pilots had been psychologically screened, but it was Deena who was thought to have the best chance of withstanding the terrible isolation of the trip.
While growing up, Deena had always been a loner. Her favorite pastime was going deep into the desert of her Eastern Washington State home.
About six months into the voyage, Commander Larson spotted Omega on her ship's long-range scanner. Another month and her spacecraft would be in orbit around the planet.
Deena examined Omega in detail with all of the sensors on board the ship, but it appeared that the planet had suffered some kind of environmental catastrophe. She could only find one faint sign of life.
That evening, Deena sent a message to Earth on her findings and prepared the shuttle for a landing on the planet's surface for the following morning.
The shuttle flight to Omega's surface was uneventful, but Deena was unprepared for the devastation she saw as she stepped out of the craft.
A once flourishing forest appeared to be completely dead. Miles and miles of lifeless trees and shrubs filled the horizon. Deena pulled out her portable sensor and scanned for any signs of life. The only signal came from an old tree at the edge of the dead forest.
Sure enough, the old tree was clinging to life. Deena thought about what to do. From her findings, she had concluded that some kind of plague had destroyed almost the entire ecosystem. She had some fertilizer in her supplies, but there was no way to know if it would help the dying tree.
The next day, Deena applied a small amount of fertilizer to the old tree and then spent the next few hours observing to see what effect it had.
At the end of the Omega day, it was clear that the fertilizer was helping. For the next week, Deena experimented with the fertilizer and eventually found the optimum mixture and dose to help the tree recover.
After several weeks, the tree began to send out seeds and sprouts appeared among the dead trees. It would take decades for the ecosystem to recover, but it was a start.
Deena thought about the report she would have to send back to Earth. If it were positive, more explorers and eventually colonists would come and the ecosystem would be assaulted once more.
As she prepared to leave Omega, Commander Larson sent the following message to Earth: "Omega is a dead planet and not compatible with human life."
Her destination was the exoplanet "Omega." Omega had been discovered seven years previously and was about five light-years from Earth. A consensus of Astrophysicists had determined that Omega had all of the conditions necessary for life.
All of the qualified pilots had been psychologically screened, but it was Deena who was thought to have the best chance of withstanding the terrible isolation of the trip.
While growing up, Deena had always been a loner. Her favorite pastime was going deep into the desert of her Eastern Washington State home.
About six months into the voyage, Commander Larson spotted Omega on her ship's long-range scanner. Another month and her spacecraft would be in orbit around the planet.
Deena examined Omega in detail with all of the sensors on board the ship, but it appeared that the planet had suffered some kind of environmental catastrophe. She could only find one faint sign of life.
That evening, Deena sent a message to Earth on her findings and prepared the shuttle for a landing on the planet's surface for the following morning.
The shuttle flight to Omega's surface was uneventful, but Deena was unprepared for the devastation she saw as she stepped out of the craft.
A once flourishing forest appeared to be completely dead. Miles and miles of lifeless trees and shrubs filled the horizon. Deena pulled out her portable sensor and scanned for any signs of life. The only signal came from an old tree at the edge of the dead forest.
Sure enough, the old tree was clinging to life. Deena thought about what to do. From her findings, she had concluded that some kind of plague had destroyed almost the entire ecosystem. She had some fertilizer in her supplies, but there was no way to know if it would help the dying tree.
The next day, Deena applied a small amount of fertilizer to the old tree and then spent the next few hours observing to see what effect it had.
At the end of the Omega day, it was clear that the fertilizer was helping. For the next week, Deena experimented with the fertilizer and eventually found the optimum mixture and dose to help the tree recover.
After several weeks, the tree began to send out seeds and sprouts appeared among the dead trees. It would take decades for the ecosystem to recover, but it was a start.
Deena thought about the report she would have to send back to Earth. If it were positive, more explorers and eventually colonists would come and the ecosystem would be assaulted once more.
As she prepared to leave Omega, Commander Larson sent the following message to Earth: "Omega is a dead planet and not compatible with human life."
