text: Earth 2150 is a much different place. Most of the world has turned into slums, areas where the poor and desperate live in squalor. Austin had a family on earth until the wars started in the slums. Losing his wife and kids while he was away getting rations from the aid convoy took everything from him. His family had always talked about moving on to one of the colonies, but the kids were to young, one more year and they could have done it. After spending months trying to get justice for his family, he decided it was time to do what his family never would now. Move on. It was a one-way trip but Hell what did he have left? They are offering ten million cred’s and 5 acres of land on Rylon, the newest colony. He signed up, made it through the tests and prepped for cryofreezing; The only way to make it through the 5-year journey to Rylon. Austin awoke with a jolt, ears ringing, eyes glazed over with whatever paste they put in them to protect his eyes from the cryo. His body hurt everywhere; they tell you this will happen and that it will pass but they could not have conveyed how much this hurts. Ears screeching with sounds that he can’t make out, because the nerves are still working on waking up. His body is asleep, that needles and pins feeling when you sleep on hit your funny bone but all over. A voice . . . a woman’s voice. What is she saying? “Austin, everything is alright you have made it to the station orbiting Rylon 6. We are bringing you back. I know that it hurts more than anyone ever could have made you believe but just hold on and you will be all set up.” Fading into blackness. Austin awoke to find himself in a room grey walls and white ceiling. The last thing he can remember was the burning he felt all over his body. He tried to move his hands and feet and was surprised to find that he had been strapped into the bed so that he could barely move. He opened his mouth to speak but all that came out was an awful groan of pain. His throat felt like he had not had a drink for years. . .and with that one thought it all came back to him. The loss of his family. Deciding in the months that followed that there was nothing left for him on earth. He tried calling out again. “H - h - h cough Hello?” he got out in the gravelliest voice he has ever heard. Behind him he can hear someone sitting up and a chair moving. “Hello, Austin how are you feeling? We have strapped you down so that incase it takes a few hours for you to remember where you are you do not hurt yourself.” As the disembodied voice was talking, he could hear footsteps moving along the floor and suddenly a blurry woman stood over him. “Here let me get these out of there” She reached down and pulled the protective lenses from his eyes and suddenly he realized just how bright this room was. The overhead light panels are off and the room is brighter than he has ever seen. “There we go that’s better! My name is Beth I am the doctor that woke you up from Cryo this morning.” “Its over?” “Yes, it is! You landed on Rylon 6, 12 hours ago.” “Where are we now?” “Let’s sit you up, shall we?” As Beth was talking, she had pulled the control remote for the bed from her pocket and began to sit him up into a sitting position. Austin Could not believe his eyes. He had seen the pictures of what earth had looked like when his Great Grandad had been a young man. And even those he had though could not be real. So much Green. But can you even call it green when it is so many different colors that all contain green? “I did not believe it could be this beautiful” as a single tear runs down his cheek as he thought of the family that would never see this. “I will leave you now. If there is anything else just press the button there on your bed.” Alone with his thoughts he came to grips with the fact that it was done. He figured all that was left now was to keep moving forward. The following day his legs were finally stable enough for him to stand. Rylon has a slightly less dense core as such gravity was about 70% of what Earth was. He started the physical reconditioning process so that his body would not lose the muscles that had not been used in 5 years. Cryo stops everything you don’t age but when you wake up your body begins to atrophy so to combat that there is a 6-week conditioning process to counteract that process. Austin could feel a noticeable difference in how his body felt on Rylon 6 due to the weaker gravity. The air he was breathing was somehow different than earth Austin had never breathed air so fresh. 6 weeks flew by and before he knew it, he was sitting in his room on the night before his release to his new life. “Hi Austin! How are you feeling? Ready for your departure tomorrow?” Beth asked as she walked in with a tray of medicines. “Oh, hello Beth, Yes I believe I am. I packed what things I have had here and had all my documentation sent to the decontamination station so that the remaining portion of my personal belongings could be sent to my storage container. What’s with all the meds?” “These are your last set of immunization boosters. We don’t want any of the viruses from Earth to make it here to Rylon so we have to give you an inhibitor to help clear them before letting you out.” She drew up a few syringes of medicine while she was talking and laid them all out ready to go so that the unpleasant necessity can be taken care of quickly. “Oh yeah. . . I remember you telling me about those sorry! Here which arm?” “Left please” Austin turns to his right exposing his left bicep so that the medicine can be injected. Just like that she had given him 4 shots and had disposed of the needles in the little sharp’s container on the wall. “I wish you the best of luck Austin! I need you to come back in 4 weeks for the last set of injections to ensure that everything is in order! Here is your final packet with the finalized printout of what you need to expect moving forward. Your land will be about 5 miles South-West of the main colony landing zone.” “Awesome thank you!” The next morning Austin awoke with the sun as he had for 6 weeks and after a brief breakfast and farewells boarded the cargo transport to get to his new home. When the captain of the cargo transport told him they would be landing in moments he looked out the window and felt his breath catch in his chest. Beauty indescribable and unforgettable surrounded him. He knew at that moment that he would be happy here.