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Message: <blockquote data-quote="lonesoldier" data-source="post: 3284302" data-attributes="member: 31189">In 2004 NASA's NEAT (Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking) system predicted that an asteroid, 99942 Apophis, would strike the Earth in 2029. This possibility was quickly disproved and forgotten by the general public. As the years progressed, commercial space-flight finally became viable, though the idea of a "Space Vacation" was still firmly in the bounds of Science Fiction. Time ground on; humanity progressed. Chief among our advances were cryotechnology and the beginnings of fusion technology.In 2023, Apophis was brought back on the radar. The NEAT and LINEAR projects estimated an impact within five years. News of the impending disaster was silenced, though it was soon leaked to other world governments. By 2027 four colony-ships floated in the docks above Earth. In 2028, as Apophis became visible in the night sky by amateur astronomers, 4000 carefully selected people were evacuated onto the starships. Powered by prototype fusion reactors, and with their passengers in cyro-hibernation the starships sped toward Chara, Rigil Kentaurus, 18 Scorpii, and 37 Geminorum.----Sensor duty at the Rigil IV Orbital Platform was boring. Ships would dock, ships would leave. Sometimes an asteroid would swing within a couple million miles of the planet. Ensign Tereth sat hunched over, his chin in his hand, watching the cargo ships driving through space toward Rigil III to use the JumpGate. He noted that their ion engines looked like bright stars as they faded away. A loud blip brought his attention back to the sensor display. Another starship entering the system.Ensign Kay was much more alert than Ensign Tereth. Her job was much more interesting though. Tereth would alert her of any starships approaching their platform and she would hail them and give them their docking bay number."Woah, look at this piece of trash. Looks almost twenty-first century," Tereth shouted to the entire docking command. "Well, they aren't responding to me," Kay shouted back. "They are moving pretty slow, maybe they busted their ansible array or something?" Tereth reasoned. The ship did look pretty banged up, micro-meteorite dents pock-marked the surface of the ship. "Well, I'm going to flash the landing lights on Bay 16." "Looks like they are takin' her in."Hail them on shortwave radio, we should be in range." Kay put her headset back on."This is Rigil IV Orbital Docking Command. Do you copy?""We copy. This is the HMCS Hope.""HMCS? What designation is that? Where are you from?""His Majesty's Canadian Ship. We are from Earth""... Repeat that last part?" Kay set her console to broadcast through the Command Room."We are from Earth"----$ cd ~/declass/TheLongSleep/HMCS_Hope/$ less ./<a href="http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=184659" target="_blank">candidates.txt</a>....[Partially declassified 2029]Cyro-hibernation Prospects:Bayne, Victor - Field Agent - RhunCosta, Zé-Antonio - Technician - Steve GorakGordon, Andrew, M.D. - Doctor - KaodiReaves, John, LT - Military - DrZombieSobieski, Lem, 1SG - Military - StonegodLogan, Ashley, 2ndLT - Military - Shayuri----It was like waking up from a dream you cannot remember, though the chilly half-life of cyrohibernation isn't real sleep. You remember the... recent... past well enough. The phone call alerting you of your candidacy, agents from your government escorting you to launch sites you didn't even know existed. The acceleration of the shuttle as it left the ground, for most it was your first time in space. The HMCS Hope, three weeks of intense training and preparation for cyrohibernation. You don't even remember how it happened, you would just fall asleep in the tube and wake up a little damp they said.The tubes are inclined slightly, you rest on your back. You are wearing a skin-tight suit, anything else would have hampered the freezing process. The tube is warm, kinda like lying on a beach, basking in the sun. You look at your feet, (the hatch of the tube has popped up and slid behind the tube), there's your uniform. Looking to your left you can see a squat, little, tracked robot rolling along, laying the uniforms in front of the tubes. The uniform is a dark green with light green threading. Your last name is printed on the left breast in yellow block letters.Victor and Zé-Antonio (Rhun and Steve Gorak) are in the same module (1M, holding 250 males). Two other survivors seem to be waking as well.Andrew, John, and Lem (Kaodi, DrZombie, and Stonegod) are in a different module (2M, holding 250 males). One other survivor has already left his tube and is dressing. It seems likely that he is Admiral Ackland, though he's too far away to read his nametag.Ashley (Shayuri) is in yet another module (2F, holding 250 females). Three more are stirring, but have not left their tubes.What do you do?</blockquote>

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