Elena García, in charge of Shipbuilding and Civil Engineering for the Star Ark Mission, was tasked with developing long-lasting, indestructible materials to ensure the success of the Time-and-Life Continuum (TALC) interstellar travel. Her main focus was on creating materials capable of withstanding the effects of space weathering. The Star Ark had to endure for generations, overcoming everything from cosmic impacts to extreme conditions, with materials that possessed both resilience and memory-recovery properties.
Elena, as a civil engineer, brought with her experience from countless mega-projects, rehabilitating infrastructure and plants. Her expertise spanned a wide range of civil engineering disciplines—structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, fluid mechanics, and material engineering. But for the Star Ark, the most essential challenge was the material itself, the foundation for long-term space survival.
She often collaborated closely with Ayesha Khan, the expert in Nuclear-Fusion Physics/Mechanics and Logistics, and Liam O'Connell, the lead in Mechanical/Electrical Engineering—AI and Robotics. They all agreed on one thing: developing indestructible materials with extreme durability, resistant to weathering, was crucial for the mission's success. For Elena, this focus on materials was fundamental—the essence of what would keep their mission alive.
Word came from the Collective of Star Ark Nations (CSAN) that a team led by Mateo Rossi at the Selene Station on the Moon had discovered a promising material—tectonic lunar deposits—that could potentially meet Elena's stringent requirements for the Star Ark. This breakthrough could be the answer they had been searching for, despite the many perilous research missions that had come before.
Excited, Mateo Rossi called Elena from the Moon.
"Hey Elena, I think you're going to want to see this. We've found something that looks extremely promising. You should come to Selene Station to help us develop and finalize this material."
Elena's voice lit up. "I'm on my way! Have you already tested the basic criteria against our requirements?"
"Absolutely," Mateo replied confidently. "If your research holds up, we can begin shipbuilding right here on the Moon using these materials. We could cut out the astronomical costs and lead times for procurement from Earth."
For Elena, this wasn't just about shipbuilding—it was about transcending human limitations. In her experience, man-made structures on Earth were always vulnerable, fragile in the face of large-scale natural disasters. But the Star Ark needed something far more durable than anything Earth had ever produced. Space was an unforgiving, extreme environment, hostile to fragile organic beings.
As she pondered the harshness of space, Elena questioned why the universe seemed so hostile to life beyond Earth. Perhaps organic life was never meant to transcend its home planet—perhaps it was never meant to thrive in the vast, unwelcoming expanse of the cosmos. Yet, despite this thought, Elena was driven by something deeper: the desire to defy those limits, to surpass the boundaries set by nature or some greater force.
Since becoming part of the Time-and-Life Continuum (TALC), Elena had witnessed countless mega-projects through her multi-cloning generations. Each time, she felt the same frustration when acts of nature—uncontrollable and devastating—battered the structures humans had built with such precision and care. The memory of her hometown, obliterated by an unforeseen disaster, lingered deeply. Why couldn't humanity overcome such forces? Why couldn't what they built remain intact, no matter the odds?
Smiling to herself, Elena whispered, winking at the shining moon.
YOU ARE READING
Point Nemo (Star Ark Mission)
Science FictionThis is a story about humanity's interstellar travel.
