Boosters fire and Falcon 12 lunges forward, veering to the left and bringing the planet into view. Oceans and white clouds wrap its surface along with a thin ozone layer. A single purple land mass covers the equator.
A voice comes through a speaker. “…Falcon… do you copy?”
Manos jolts upright. “Gareth, is that you?”
“Yes. We lost track of your ship. Where are you?”
“You won’t believe this, but we crossed the wormhole to Barnard’s Star and we’re about to land on New Earth.”
“Incredible. You’ve made history, Manos!”
“Don’t congratulate us yet.”
The ship slows and grid fins pop out from its base. A lead shield emerges from the underbelly as the rocket rotates and descends into the atmosphere, heading for the purple lands.
Felina runs a search. “Apparently, there are 15 planets in this solar system. New Earth is 100 million miles from Barnard’s Star, about the same distance as Earth from the Sun.”
Manos shakes his head in disbelief. “This is amazing…” The sky turns blue as Falcon 12 slows its descent. “Gareth, there’s land in front of us.”
“What is it like?”
“We are flying through white clouds! There are purple mountains covered in snow with streams and lakes everywhere. I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”
A red light flashes and the A.I. comes on. “Please strap your safety belts and prepare for landing.”
Thrusters ignite to slow the ship. They drift downward and land in a valley next to a river. Purple grass and trees stretch across the land into the horizon. Manos looks up to see two silver moons in the vast sky.
The flashing stops. “You have arrived.”
Manos leaps from his seat. “We have no time to lose. Hurry!” He heads for the exit and runs down ten flights of stairs to the dock in the ship’s base.
Felina tracks close behind. “Mr. Kharon, please don’t rush. We can’t get overexcited.”
“It’s too late for that. I feel like a kid in a candy shop.”
In the cargo bay, Felina enters a passkey and a closet opens with two white spacesuits. She hands him a pair of smartglasses. “Please wear these so we can communicate.”
Manos puts on the specs and dons a space helmet. “Gareth, can you hear me?”
“Yes.”
“We’re about to disembark. Stay online with me.”
He suits up in the cargo bay, sliding into a pair of space trousers that auto-adjust to his measurements. He steps into the boots and they automatically seal around his legs.
Felina hands him a chrome rod. “Use this to take samples of the air and rocks.”
“Aren’t you coming with me?”
“I’ll stay here and run the analysis.”
“Have it your way.” He enters an airlock and shuts the door. Felina stands behind a glass panel and initiates a test sequence.
Manos dons a helmet. “Can you hear me, Felina?”
Her voice comes through the speaker in his smartglasses. “Yes, loud and clear.”
“Perfect. Gareth should be on the line as well.”
“Yes, I’m here.”
Felina gestures. “Prepare for safety checks.” A wind tunnel kicks up and the room’s pressure lowers. “How are you feeling, sir?”
“Excellent.”
Seconds later, a green light flashes. “You are good to go, Mr. Kharon.”
Manos smiles. “It’s time to meet our new world. Open the doors!”
The cargo bay opens, exposing an orange colored-land covered in purple foliage. One-hundred-foot trees stretch to the infinite sky, their maroon-colored leaves rustling in gentle winds.
Manos walks forward onto New Earth. “Oh my God, there are rivers and lakes as far as I can see. And plants with purple leaves!”
“Purple?” Gareth asks in his earpiece. “I wonder why that is?”
“Evolution must have taken a different course,” Felina says. “The reason plants back home are green is that they absorb blue and red light. The chemistry is probably different here.”
Manos walks toward a river and inserts the rod into the liquid. “Felina, I’m taking my first sample and sending you the data.”
Seconds later, she shrieks. “You’re not going to believe this.”
“What did you find?”
“Sir, that’s H2O!”
“Are you sure? What’s the composition?”
“Less than 1% sodium and chloride.”
“You mean just like home?”
“Yes!”
“Did you hear that, Gareth? This planet has rivers of water.”
Gareth gasps. “What about the atmosphere?”
Manos raises the rod and collects a sample of the air, then transmits the data for Felina.
Seconds later, her voice comes through the earpiece. “More stunning news… the air is thirty percent oxygen and seventy percent nitrogen.”
Manos’s eyes widen. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“That’s breathable air! I can take my helmet off.”
“Sir, please don’t do that. You don’t have to risk your life!”
“Why not? Oxygen is oxygen.”
“Sir, I would advise you—”
Manos removes his helmet. He closes his eyes as a gentle breeze touches his face. He takes a deep inhalation through his nostrils and exhales through his mouth. “Oh my God…”
“What’s happening?” Gareth asks.
Manos drops the rod and runs giddily across a purple field, rolling around the ground and shouting at the top of his lungs. “I can breathe the air!”
Gareth’s voice rises. “Manos, describe your vantage.”
He chuckles maniacally. “I see dollar signs everywhere, Gareth. Profits hanging from the trees!” He rips the purple foliage and kicks some rocks. “We’ll build factories and communities here!”
“Sir, please be careful,” Felina says. “I wouldn’t touch the plants if I were you. We don’t know what kind of microbes live on this planet.”
Manos jumps and screams, “GoldRock will be the biggest company of all time!” He digs his hand in the ground and throws dirt in the air. “Who knows how much gold and silver are buried in this land? We’ll dig thousands of mines.”
“Congratulations,” Gareth says. “You made it into the history books! This is a new chapter for our civilization.”
Manos sits on the ground and wheezes gleefully. “We have to keep this confidential, do you understand? We can’t tell anyone about this, not even the President.”
“That’s not possible,” Gareth states sternly.
“This is my discovery. GoldRock will have first dibs on New Earth.”
“Let’s discuss that when—”
The voice fades.
Manos panics. “Gareth? Can you hear me?”
The call drops. Felina looks up and spots Earth fading in the sky. “Mr. Kharon, the wormhole is shrinking.”
He looks up. “That can’t be.”
“If it disappears, we will be stuck here forever. We should return home immediately.”
Manos grabs some dirt and stuffs his pocket. “Okay, let’s get out of here.”
He races into the cargo bay and disrobes, changing back into his civilian clothing. They run to the cockpit and strap in. “Falcon 12, get us back home as soon as possible.”
“Prepare for launch,” the A.I. instructs. Seconds later, the rocket lifts off the purple planet and heads for the wormhole.
“What an experience,” Manos proclaims. “I can’t wait to come back here!”
Felina covers her nose. “You smell awful, sir.”
“I do? Like what?”
“Like when you blow out a match.”
He smirks. “I actually like that smell.”
The ship barrels into space and tumbles across the wormhole, rattling as it reenters the solar system. Earth and the moon suddenly appear in the near distance, their colors returning to normal. Behind the ship, Barnard’s Star dims as the portal begins to fade.