Logbook entry

Lazarus Expedition situation report:

We’ve suffered a critical failure.

lt came out of nowhere, I thought we’d hit something, just a huge bang and then all hell broke loose, system alarms firing off everywhere. All drives are off line, repair attempts are ongoing but with no success.

Evidence points to one of the cooling systems exploding on a routine cycle. It sent pieces flying through the propulsion system, shredding it, chains of explosions and… Well, the long and the short of it is the ship’s a dead stick. We’re drifting, no engine, no means of altering course.

I guess we’re lucky the power plant didn’t go up or we wouldn’t be alive to make reports.

Lazarus Expedition situation report:

After weeks of repairs we have to accept it. The Lazarus is not going anywhere.

So we have two choices open to us:

We can stay on board, floating aimlessly in space. There are enough renewable resources for generations, but it’s not an infinite supply. The Lazarus wasn’t a top of the line ship. There was only enough capital to get the basic ship built and stocked up for the intended travel time. We added some contingency, but that will only give us say… another ten years. So maybe it’ll be our great grand kids that’ ll have to deal with the problem. I don’t like that idea. I couldn’t bear with it being another generation’s problem to solve, while we use up all the resources.

So that leaves option number two.

We harvest the ship and build as many useable lifeboats as we can. This thing was designed to be dismantled to make our settlements when we reached our destination. Once we have all we need from the ship, we should be able to reach a planet, as long as it’s not too far away. We’ ve done some scans and there are habitable worlds in the region that we can aim for.

It’ll take months, maybe years, but I think it’s the best option. After all, we have the time and giving people hope is a powerful tool.

Lazarus Expedition situation report:

As the life ship’s near completion, I find I’m sleeping less and less. I tell myself that it’s nerves or excitement at all we’ve achieved. But those are just the lies I tell myself to keep going.

The real reason I can’t sleep is that I know what’s to come. Even with the rules in place, we’ve seen population growth. Unlicensed births are increasing as people see the light at the end of the tunnel. I knew hope was powerful, but I forgot it can also blind you to the truth.

With our current population, we don’t have enough space on the life ships for everyone on board.

So once again, I have choices to make.

It won’t be popular, these things never are. But it will be fair.

There is an old Earth maritime tradition of women and children being evacuated first. We will hold to that We’ll try to keep families together. From those that remain, volunteers will be requested I can only hope that covers the deficit. Otherwise it’II be a lottery for the final places.

Lazarus Expedition situation report:

The last of the life ships has launched. Each has a destination well within their calculated range. We thought it best to have multiple destinations, not putting all our eggs in one basket so to speak. All we can do for them now is hope, hope that they make it, hope that the planets they land on are hospitable, hope that they thrive and grow.

For us that remained on board there is no more hope. We go about our existence with the knowledge that we are destined to die, but that we do so, so that others could live.

In the end we all volunteered for this. That’s the thing about the human spirit. We fight over the smallest things, but when it really hits the fan, people step up.

This is our last log, I won’t document our demise. This is not our story anymore. It belongs to those out there heading towards a new life. It’s a story of hope, triumph over adversity and how we came together as a community to give them a chance out here. This is the Lazarus Expedition… signing off.