This survey was a long time coming. The coordinates were retrieved, the warp engines were heated, and away we went. A few hours later, we arrived.
The crew had gathered on the observation deck in anticipation of our arrival. They all wanted to get a good look at this one. We exited warp space as planned. As Earth materialized in front of our ship, the crew had a series of varying and spontaneous emotional outbursts.
Everyone knew the history. Our ancestors had to leave this place in order to save humanity. They couldn't take everyone though. We all knew of the sacrifices that were made during those years.
No amount of history could have prepared us to see Earth like that, a barren ball of death and decay. Even though none of us had seen it before, a part of our humanity sympathized with our former home-world and mourned its passing.
There was not much time for mourning however, we had work to do. We conducted the routine surface scans and deployed the reconnaissance drones. We received a series of video feeds showing what had become of Earth. Sprawling mega-cities laid in ruin, mounds of garbage towered over mass-graves. Everything had fallen apart.
There was not much time for mourning however, we had work to do. We conducted the routine surface scans and deployed the reconnaissance drones. We received a series of video feeds showing what had become of Earth. Sprawling mega-cities laid in ruin, mounds of garbage towered over mass-graves. Everything had fallen apart.
Realizing that the surface was unlikely to yield any informative results, we decided to focus our scans on orbiting structures. None had been built after our departure, so we knew what to look for. We found it. A small orbital station. The scans showed it was old. Really old. It didn't seem possible that something this old could still be in orbit.
We approached the orbiting structure. Drones were sent out to get a closer look. We determined that the station had been kept in stable orbit due to propulsion pods that had been retro-fitted to the station. We were baffled. How and why did a piece of space-junk like this have advanced propulsion pods?
We found our answer. One of the drones accessed the data-banks of the orbiting structure and found an audio-file. We listened to it. It was a voice, a male voice. He sounded scared and sad. The voice spoke,
"Hello, my name is John Hayes. I was sent up here by the government of the United States in order to deliver and prepare the contents of this space-borne time-capsule formerly known as the International Space Station. They sent me up here along with a state-of-the-art propulsion system and data-storage system. The goal of this wild endeavor? To save the internet." The voice paused for a moment. The bridge was silent as everyone tried to comprehend what was being said.
"You may not know what that means, but it doesn't matter. Detailed instructions are included to allow you to access the data stored within this orbital station and make use of it. Good Luck. Oh and by the way, sorry for screwing up the planet." the voice faded out.
After following the instructions attached to the message, our screens flickered and adjusted to display the antiquated input. Our effort was rewarded with a long narrow box above which read the word: GOOGLE.
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