Author Games: Brave New World

Task One: The People of Danu

The Tuatha Dé Danann, the Tribe of the Goddess Danu, were the fifth race to invade Ireland. They came from four island cities far to the north, and were skilled in many wondrous crafts. When they moved in host across land and sea, their ships were as a great storm whose noise occluded the sky.

Not a soul knew why they left their island homes to come to Ireland. None, of course, save for the Tuatha Dé Danann themselves...

Captain's Log. Date: 30.19.26.02.2150.CE

This will be my last night on Earth. 

Perhaps I should be more concerned about the future. After all, I will be the first starship captain in the history of humanity. There are a thousand problems that may arise in the next day alone, when I am lifted into orbit and enter the Ark. I will need to check every system for the slightest error, and then check it again, and again. I will need to trust my life, and the lives of 100 people besides me, to the skill of Earth's engineers. I will need to have faith that our physicists are right, and that our engines will pull us across the galaxy faster than a photon in the void. 

Perhaps I should be terrified, instead of elated.

It's hardly going to be an easy life, from here on out. God knows that Hai and Thalita have hardly made things easy on me up to now. I can only hope they'll stop acting like cats and dogs after we land. Establishing a settlement on a foreign world will be difficult enough without discordancy among the colony leaders. I do my best to keep them functional...

No. I'm not going to think about them now. Tonight is a time for me to be excited, terrified, and focused on my mission. I'll have plenty of time to play diplomat after we're under way.

I'm looking up at the stars as I dictate this entry. After tomorrow, I'll have lost all the old patterns, the constellations my grandmother pointed out to me when I was young. I'll see a night sky that is utterly different, a night sky with strange stars and patterns. 

Perhaps we'll need to give them new names.

Or perhaps we won't need to name the stars again, because after millennia of dreaming, we'll finally be among them.

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Requirements

-Your entry must take place between the following times: The day before they are flown into orbit to board the Ark, and when the Ark begins the voyage to Danu.

-That's it! Be creative, because sponsorships are based on this task. Six sponsorships will be awarded, each with their own set of benefits. More on that as it becomes relevant.

-If you were paying attention and added the password to the Other section of your form, you are eligible for notes this round. Leave a comment once scores go up, and I'll get to you as soon as I can.

Due Date: Tuesday, March 1 at 10 PM EST