veil of the unknown

Chapter 1: A Life Unfulfilled

Soren's life in Luxembourg was, by all accounts, comfortable. His family wasn't wealthy, but they were stable, supportive, and deeply rooted in their small community. His mother managed a modest business in town—a boutique that catered to tourists and locals alike. His father, brilliant yet perpetually disorganized, had managed to build a successful career despite odds that would have discouraged anyone else. His dad's habits—half-finished projects, a desk overflowing with papers, and a memory that seemed to miss everything except the details of his work—would drive most people mad, but to Soren, it was endearing.

Their relationship had always been easy. His father was more like a friend or an older brother, someone who would sit with him and chat for hours, swapping jokes or sharing bits of wisdom he'd picked up over the years. Despite his chaotic habits, his father had made a name for himself in his field, proving his doubters wrong. To Soren, he was more than just a father; he was someone to admire, a reminder that resilience and hard work could make a difference.

Soren's sister, Elise, was a mechanical engineer—a profession that seemed to demand the same kind of messiness his father embodied. Her workspace, much like his dad's, was a scattered landscape of tools, blueprints, and half-finished projects. But despite the disarray, she thrived. Elise had ambitions, a clear path ahead of her, and a determination that Soren couldn't help but admire. She was everything he felt he wasn't: driven, decisive, and full of purpose.

Yet, surrounded by all this stability, Soren felt like he was missing something essential. His life had fallen into a comfortable routine, but it was a routine that left him feeling adrift, as though he were a passenger in his own existence. He had friends, hobbies, a supportive family—and yet, none of it felt real. Each day was a cycle of school, work, and the occasional night out with friends, but it was all so... hollow. He often found himself lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering if this was all his life would amount to. The thought terrified him.

Luxembourg was his home, but it was also a small, insulated world, one that didn't offer many surprises. His friends had ambitions, dreams of making a mark somewhere in the world. They talked about universities, careers, traveling to places they'd only seen in movies. And while Soren wanted all of that, he couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't deserve it. That he was somehow lacking, a shadow in the light of others' ambitions.

To make matters worse, the world around them seemed to be collapsing under the weight of its own population and greed. Environmental news was always grim—rising sea levels, extreme weather, cities crumbling under the weight of overpopulation. Every year, it seemed, brought another report of some species going extinct, some natural wonder reduced to rubble. Climate change, resource shortages, pollution—these were the headlines that colored Soren's view of the future. He often wondered if there would be a future left for people like him.

And then, just when he thought life had settled into this unremarkable rhythm, the Luxembourg Space Colonization Program made an announcement. The news spread across Europe in a single day, carried on the wings of hopeful whispers and incredulous stares. Soren still remembered the way his friends had talked about it—hushed voices and wide eyes, as though it were too impossible to believe. The idea was simple, bold, and almost absurd: they had found a way to reach a new, Earth-like planet in another solar system.

Kepler-186f, they called it. A distant world with breathable air, water, and landscapes that almost mirrored Earth's, though it was vastly different in other ways. The gravitational pull was stronger, the atmosphere denser, the environment harsher in ways that would make survival difficult. But humanity had been given a second chance, a new world to begin again.

The catch? Only a select few would be chosen to go. With overpopulation and resource scarcity, the stakes were high, and only young people between the ages of 18 and 21 would be eligible. The program was selective, combing through candidates from each country based on health, aptitude, and resilience. Each nation would send representatives, and the larger the population, the more slots available. Luxembourg, small and unassuming, had only a few.

As soon as Soren heard the news, he felt a strange pull, something he couldn't explain. The idea of leaving Earth was terrifying, but the thought of staying here—of living the same mundane, aimless life—was worse. His friends speculated on what it would mean, imagining life on a planet with higher gravity, alien flora, and unknown creatures. Some of them were thrilled by the prospect, seeing it as a chance to escape the increasingly dire state of Earth. Others were more skeptical, questioning whether this was even ethical, whether humanity should be colonizing another world.

For Soren, it was a chance to be part of something that mattered, something that went beyond his own small, insulated world. But there was a hesitation, too—a fear that he wasn't enough, that he wouldn't make the cut even if he tried. In the back of his mind, he could already hear the voices of doubt, whispering that he was just a kid from Luxembourg, unremarkable and undeserving.

That night, as he lay in bed, Soren stared at the ceiling, feeling a familiar ache in his chest. He wanted something more than this, something beyond the walls of his quiet town, beyond the comfortable life his family had built. He wanted to be part of something that mattered, something that felt real.

But he was just Soren—aimless, unsure, and full of doubts he didn't know how to conquer.

And yet, in the quiet of that moment, he couldn't help but wonder... could he be chosen?