Olympius Ascending

Chapter 2/Cecily

Chapter 2

Cecily

I sat impatiently in my seat, waiting for my superiors to brief us. Thirty of the greatest scientists in our population, including me, were summoned here for an unknown task. We were brought to the mission room of the ship, one only the highest of people had the privilege to see. Through the glass windows of the ship a devoid darkness of space existed, shining with small stars that zipped by. Chattering voices of geniuses filled the room, but my voice was not among them.

My hands were shaking under the table by the time the heads came in. three of the greatest people in my entire race sat down less than thirty feet from me. I should have been in awe, in shock. But something was wrong. They looked sullen, serious, sad. As if someone they knew close had just died. Right as this realization hit me, one of them opened their mouths to speak.

"You, of course, have no idea why are here. And you are probably wondering why you have been summoned here, today, and what could possibly be so important that could disturb your work. As you all know, the planet we once inhabited, less than 6 cycles ago, has been stripped to its core of minerals and sustenance. Since then, you, the greatest minds of our kind, have been doing your absolute best to set up colonies on moons, planets, and any satellite systems we can find to save our race. We are here to tell you that you do not need to search anymore." Voices filled the room, voices filled with terror and excitement and shock. Mine was, this time, one of them. As soon as the truth had settled in, questions arose that filled the air and cluttered our minds. Why isn't this released to the public? What are we still doing here? Will it hold all of our population? The heads made attempts to stop the rambling around the room, to silence it so that the questions could be answered.

"We have found a planet that could hold our populations well. It is rich in iron, aluminum, and nickel. It also contains magnesium, oxygen, calcium, and has an atmosphere comprised of mostly oxygen and nitrogen. This planet, Colco 31, is our only hope. It is, unfortunately, occupied by hundreds of autotrophic and heterotrophic species that take up the surface of the planet."

Silence accommodated the space as the truth sunk in. In order to avoid species wide extinction, we would be forced to clear the whole planet of its creatures, possibly sentient beings. What numbers would be forced to die before there was enough room for us? Would be ever be able to coexist? Would we be able to live on an earth where others lived before, or would be we weighed down by the thoughts of our genocides? Those were the questions that pushed on the minds of the scientists sitting at their desks.

"As of now, all we know is that there is one main species across Coclo 31's surface that solely dominated. They walk on two legs, not completely unlike that of us. They are called the Binoga, and they are the apex predator of Colco 31. They will be systematically studied, with live samples available to you for experiment within the next half cycle. You are not to share this with anyone who is outside of the career of science. That is all. You are dismissed."

I arose in a blank state of shock. After 5 boring cycles on this ship, the ultimatum of death or genocide is given to me, along with 29 others. The thought of it nearly killed me.

Later that night, in my dorm, I had to resist from ranting about the meeting to my roommate, Paxton. Pax was ranting about another of his classmates in his technology course. He wanted to build a bio-ship, he called it. One where we could live, but it would seem like our old home planet, Apebeta. I grew up there for the first 25 cycles of my life, and the last 5 cycles of my life had been on this ship, with a daily routine of waking up, class, rations, class, and sleep. Our rations have been getting increasingly smaller the more time we spend on this floating rock. You didn't have to be a scientist to notice.