Intergalactic Travellers…

by Len Morgan

 Humanity colonize the moon in 2050.  Both Mars and Venus are eventually Terra-formed and colonies established by 2235. 

.-...-.

When astrophysicists and cosmologists learned that the sun would run out of fuel within two million years we began, in earnest, to explore ways that would ensure humanities survival.

 We realized that colonizing the galaxy was a pipe dream.  Carboxy life forms like us are not equipped to survive the speeds required to reach even the nearest stars. We could not survive a journey that would last for centuries, and if it were possible would we survive the boredom of deep space travel?  We would need to carry so much food, oxygen, water, and fuel for such a trip.  Just one interstellar ship would require all the resources of planet Earth with no guarantee of success.  Half our time would be spent accelerating and decelerating in order not to overshoot the target.     

  No!  Humans are much too fragile for that, and too short-lived.  We are built to be stop-at-home bodies destined to forever remain within our solar system until the sun runs out of fuel and ends its life, and ours, in a fireball; taking the earth and all the planets with it.  If we have ambitions to expand beyond our solar system it will have to be done by other means.

 The best chance of carrying fauna & flora from Earth to the stars would be in the modern equivalent of Noah’s Ark, as seeds, to be reborn at some far off destination, under the guidance of machines.  For our future, AI (Artificial Intelligence) would provide the best chance of survival for Humanity and all living things on Earth.

.-…-. 

  In 2150, our initial investment in the project was to send small ‘pathfinder’ drones towards Proxima Centauri, Alpha Centauri A & B, Barnard's star, Luhman 16, Wolf 359, and several dozen other neighbouring stars in our galaxy.

 Given the right conditions, they would seed them with oxygenating plants, sending back word of their success or failure.  The earliest messages would take hundreds of years to arrive back on Earth.  By then the ships would be on their way to their secondary targets.

In the intervening period, humanity would be working hard to improve propulsion methods and increase the versatility of existing AI units.

Biologists would be working to bring down gestation periods and improve methods of in-vitro fertilization. Improving and miniaturizing artificial wombs.  There were no adverse effects when smaller creatures such as mice, cats, and dogs were created, in the initial trials.  Larger animals are the logical next step to be accomplished by the end of the 23^rd century. 

The second tranche, of small ships, would be sent to the prime planets, identified by the ‘pathfinders’ as having water and being situated within the Goldilocks zone of their star.

There were of course protests & riots by religious and fringe organizations.  So much so, that for a while the plans were publicly put on hold; but, in private they continued apace.  Intelligent miniaturized devices were developed small enough to travel, yet large enough to build and upscale to larger machines that could create a liveable Earth-type environment.  All the knowledge from the homeworld would be stored in teaching units so that even in their artificial wombs children could be schooled for their new environment.  Thus humanity and other earth life forms could be transplanted to other worlds.

 .-...-.

The plan would be:

AI – would advance into the Universe claiming resources to improve, modify, advance, and justify their own existence.

Each Ark, containing the seeds from its creator’s world would be sent with the latest technology currently available to them.

These small sub-light crafts would carry with them the unique creativity of their carboxy creators, and their AI nanobots, Partners, working together on reaching journeys end.  

  The original Ark’s left the homeworld at 1 tenth light speed.  Traveling in all directions for tens of thousands of years and in that time their AI & nanobot components would be working tirelessly to increase their speed 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, times the speed of light. 

  When they reach a suitable planet they go into orbit and commence Terra-forming in earnest.  They seed the planet with flora & microorganisms, to bring the planet to life.  Many species will fail to survive, but many more will thrive.

Centuries may pass before trees grasses and other oxygenating plants create a viable ecosystem.  Then, higher life forms, grazers and carnivores would be created in artificial wombs under a vastly accelerated growth program, creating mature creatures able to successfully breed and multiply within the year of conception.  Finally, when a stable ecosystem has been established, humans would be raised in those same artificial wombs. 

Their education would begin prior to birth, from the collective knowledge of the homeworld.  Fully formed pubescent’s would complete their training and be given free rein to populate and establish communities.  The AI’s would have previously created rudimentary habitations and factory units ready for their use.  The humans would be left to run things from then on, while the AI’s concentrated on re-equipping and stocking the Ark for their journey onwards to the next suitable planet. 

Agriculture and mining would be the AI’s initial objectives.   Seeds & eggs taken from the fittest would be used to replenish the Arks stores.  Raw materials, metals, chemicals, mined for future research, all stored and loaded into the Ark. 

As time passes their speed would continue to increase 0.6, 0.7, even 0.8, times the speed of light.

  The grand project to populate the galaxy would continue apace, aided by the AI’s and new currently unimagined Nanotech devices. 

There will be exceptions to this plan; so a caveat is required, to cover such eventualities.  Should there be failures in the AI chain; soft tissue creatures such as humans may not be created.  In which case they may produce a pure machine society but, they would still be our progeny.

.-...-.

Year 1,982,076 ~ Leaving Home

I gaze up at the unchanging sky, maybe for the last time.  The sun a red fiery disc covers a third of the heavens.  There are hundreds of ships, like giant mushrooms silhouetted against the ruddy backdrop. Once there was ‘day and night’, you could view other stars in the sky, now only shades of red are visible.  Over the last two hundred years, the flotilla of ships has been assembling in orbit. Ready to take us away. 

We all know the sun has become unstable and is entering its end phase.

 Eventually, it will expand and swallow up the solar system.  So, soon we will be leaving.  We need to clear the Oort clouds outer zone before that happens and need to be as close to light speed as possible, at the endgame, to take advantage of a 'once in star time' acceleration boost from the solar explosion that should propel us towards our destinations which we may or may not reach alive, who knows?

The recently invented inertia pods will, in theory, cushion soft tissue, and enable the ships to accelerate for most of the journey halving the travel time.  So, the 'stop-at–homebodies' will finally be embracing their greatest and final adventure…  

Even so many opted to stay and briefly watch the end of the world; believing in divine deliverance.

We know there are now colonies established on most of the worlds around nearby stars, prepared to take in refugees from the homeworld if we can reach them.

So, with months remaining, we wait patiently for the telltale signal to GO…

 Copyright Len Morgan