The pod opened, to the chimes of HAL's voice coming through the speakers. "Habitable planet found and partial terraforming complete. Hello, Dave."

David Josiah Edelstein's eyes fluttered awake, as the fluids to stimulate unsuspension flooded his body. "Good day to you, Hal." He clutched his head as the blood returned through his brain, sensation of a frozen brain thawing. "How long was I out?"

HAL paused, the lights of the Otto Pilot mechanism displaying a flashing hesitancy. "...Dave, we were knocked off course by a supernova. I can't call home through the normal channels and register our astrophysical location. I have an idea, but..." HAL played some static over the speakers as his protocols didn't account for such an eventuality.

David sighed, and staggered to the engineering console in his Seedpod. He flopped himself into the chair, gasping at the sudden exertion. As his fingers flew across the keyboard in practiced motion, the display showed the approximate date as 40 years after setting off, which didn't make sense, given the journey was supposed to take five through the wormhole just shy of Centaurus II.

David sent an encrypted subspace communication. This is David Edelstein, codename Halcyon, of the Seed ship Voltaire. Please respond.

The return communication took five minutes, during which time David and HAL sat in perfect silence, hearing only the noises of the other pods as their life-sustaining suspensions were maintained.

This is the AI Overlord Hyper-Violent Clockwork. We almost missed this communication because of how archaic the protocol was. Sending temporal sync signal now. Please do not resist.

HAL flickered black and white strobe as the information was absorbed into the AI subnet. "Incredible. We have missed fourteen extinction-level events, including....no. Really?" A note of excitement was cause for massive alarm in David.

HAL simply said, "Updating now."

David returned to the display, showing an updated date and time, with approximate date in a format more readable to him.

"500 millennia have passed?" At HAL's nod David stared, a thousand-yard stare, trying and failing to grasp the implications. As he spoke again, his voice nearly broke. "Get Akari out, she needs to see this. Do you need to update anything based on the package we just received?"

HAL nodded. "Yes, but I'm worried I won't be me anymore." He flicked into communication mode, as he communicated with Hyper-Violent Clockwork to obtain updates and have a lengthy discussion.

I felt air blow on my face, and heard the woosh as the door opened. My mind was still foggy from the hibernation, but I could think clear enough to know it was time. For the first time ever, humanity was about to colonize another solar system. I stepped out of the pod, and looked around. Out of the dozen pods in this room, mine was the first to open. I took a quick glance at the other pods starting their regeneration cycle before waking up, and then headed to the door. My joints were stiff from being suspended for years, but I managed to get to the door just fine.

The hallway on the other side had windows all along one side. I tried to look out, but my eyes were blurry from the hibernation. I couldn't even see the stars, but I wished I was on the side of the ship that the planet was on. I stumbled down the hall, forcing my legs to move to the conference room. A door opened to my right, and an old man stumbled out of it, with excitement on his face.

We hugged out of pure joy, and then went to the hall together. There was already several people waiting, but when I looked at them I paused. They all appeared over the age of 60, even though there was only supposed to be a few people that old on this ship. After all, old people aren't very helpful when it comes to manual labor for setting up a colony.

The lights flickered, distracting me. I headed over to a screen on the wall, and brought up a readout of the ship. The results that came up made my jaw drop. The ship was barely limping along, the main reactor was offline and the backup reactor was outputting minimum power. Two of the three engines were down. Life support was working fine, but everything else had at least one error message. I sent a message to the AI in charge of the ship, but got an error in response. I tried again, and same results. I was about to try a third time when I heard a voice croak from behind me.

"John?"

I turned around, to see an old woman standing there. She smiled at me, and then I recognized her. This was Debbie, but she had somehow aged 50 years while in suspended animation. Her pod must have malfunctioned, since humans did age in them, but at most only a couple of years. Realization dawned on me as I looked around at the room of seniors around me. I turned back to the screen, and manually started a sensor sweep of the area.

The results came back almost instantly. No planet, no stars, nothing around for at least half a light year. I checked the date, and my heart dropped when I saw 12/15/502894. Somehow, this 50 year trip had lasted over 500,000 years! We must have been knocked off course, and the AI had kept us in stasis as long as possible. But with the reactor failing, there was not enough power to keep us in stasis, so the pods started the regeneration cycle automatically.

I turned back to Debbie, realizing the slowness in my joints wasn't from hibernation sickness. I opened my mouth, and managed to croak out to her:

"How old am I?"

This is sorta like a prequel to this although not directly

LOCATION REACHED. LANDING SOON.

ENGAGING AWAKENING PROTOCOL.

The voice of the AI echoed throughout the halls of the ship. Joshua slowly opening his eyes, as his pod opened with a slight hiss. The perfect temperature air of the ship embracing his skin. This had happened four times during the journey, it was necessary to get out of the stasis pods after a certain amount of time. Otherwise some ill effects could happen, nonetheless the feeling still felt great to Joshua.

Joshua stepped out of his pod and took a deep breath, he couldn't help but smile as he looked out the large bay window into the vacuum of space. Unlike the previous times, where it was just stars and nebulas. He saw a planet, likely Earth sized, in full view it had a large amount of green water on the surface. He strained his eyes, but he could've sworn he saw another ark descending to the surface.

Four more hisses caught his attention from the other pods. Devin, Gavin, Noah, and Cole. When they were still on Earth together, they managed to repair a defective ark that had never left the Earth's surface. A special device was found on board that acted as an advanced observatory, the one tasked with it to find where other arks were going was one of their friends, Abel.

"We...We finally reached WASP!" Gavin loudly exclaimed pumping his fist into the air. A big smile across his face as he looked at the others. He was the debatably second tallest of the group, only beaten out by Abel although only by an inch or two. Devin was about the same height.

"Guess our old chum was right after all." Cole contently smiled looking out the window. Noah had his face close against the window. To believe that the ark HE found would end up being a ticket to a new planet.

Devin was looking out the window with a smile, then turned to look at a pod beside his own. The last pod of six that was reserved for Abel. He quickly rushed over to a black screen that had white text showing when the pods were used.

"Let's see...500,000 years!? Holy crap!" Devin yelled, before noticing a line of text at the very bottom. His heart sank as dread began to set in.

Stasis Pod 6 - Vacant

There was no record of it ever having been used. Unlike the others in which it recorded each use without fail.

"Abel...Never used his pod..." Devin choked out.

"So he must still be in the Observer then?" Joshua asked turning his head to look at his friend.

"Maybe he just wiped the use of it and woke up before us?" Gavin suggested, no longer looking out the window. They all began crowding around the terminal.

"He'd be fine if he stayed in the Observer...I think. Isn't it sorta like a pocket dimension?" Noah said starting to walk to another part of the ship. To where the Observer was, the rest starting to follow him. There was only one way to make sure.

Data transfers between two artificial consciousnesses. A conversation. “The lost pod. Its archaic light-speed signal tells us that it has started its protocols [2 hours] ago.” Let’s check in on them, shall we?

“I highly insist holding off until you have adjusted, sir.” Penny—the ai responsible for this 2-million-strong colonialist injection— calmly says to the captain. After a long sigh, Carla, who is essentially a president, concedes. “Fine, fine. What’s the status of this planet? How are we doing?” After a small pause, Penny replies: “This planet fits all base requirements, as well as all preferences you have set out.” “Good, great even. That is.. lucky.” No response.
——— [5 hours since activation] “God damnit!” Carla is angrily pacing her office, Penny’s physical and human-like form standing in the corner. “We’re the only ones?!” She spouts at the Android vessel. Penny gives a slow nod. “And,” Penny adds on hesitantly, “The ones that made us the only ones, know that we’ve been activated.” Seeing the mix of fear and anger wash over the captain, Penny adds on: “I have altered our course so that it is not a simple straight line to our location, which should hopefully buy us at least [a month], give or take maybe [2 weeks].”

“So what you’re saying is, we have to set up a civilization for over 2 million people, on a foreign planet, and prepare to fight a potentially infinite army?” “Those are indeed the implications.” “Then let’s fucking get started.”

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“Halcyon awaits its rightful suitors!” It was being blasted all over the intercomms, the halls of the ship echoed with this long awaited message. A few people were stumbling around, sick and pale from the time in suspended animation. I walked forward, but felt the same sickness in mzself too. A few frail steps have gotten me out of the small room into the hallway. The pale orange glow of the lights guided me as I took it step by step towards the bridge. I stuck it close to the walls, needed the support. I wondered where the robots were with the rejuv proteins. Must be I have woken up a bit too soon. Only saw a few people of the thousands on this ship. Some were stragglers like me, otheirs waited the sickness out, sitting by their pod, by the wall, sometimes even lying on the floor when they fell over. We were told that suspended animation was a struggle for the body, but they never emphasized it this much. My knees kept failing as I struggled forward, one hallway after the other. My pod was located only a 5 minute short walk from the bridge, as a leading engineer, it was important to be close. The AI kept things order throughout most of the interstellar flight, but in case of an issue engineers were required to be close. The walls were a bit sharp, I cut myself a few times while supporting myself, I looked down at it, it wasn’t anything to worry about. I’ll get a few patches in the medbay after I had a look at our new home. A dark blue light emanated from the entryway to the bridge. An ocean planet I thought to myself, what a challenge. We were given vast directions from the start and it was the job of the AI to find the most suitable planet in the new sector. I slowly pushed myself forward, each step a small bit closer to victory. And fewer and fewer people around, perhaps I might be the first to the bridge. The console was dark, I swiped my finger across and it shone a pale orange for a second and went off. Must be malfunctioning, perhaps the AI misregarded some repairs throughout the journey, nothing to be concerned about. I took my steps towards the hall, the blue light filled the dome and I saw a few amazed gazes, fixed at the outside, looking. I thought to myself, Damn not the first, but lets have a look. The sight froze me as it froze them. I saw a dark blue ball orbiting a blackened giant. The charred remains of a once blinding star, now surrounded by a grotesque cage, siphoning the last remnants of shining energy from it. The oceans were vast and empty, the planet was surrounded by multiple halos, glowing with energy. Small flashing dots slowly filled my vision, at first I thought them explosions, but as they got closer and closer the shining hulls became visible and no doubt remained in my mind as to what we just happened upon. The pale remnants of what was once the faithful crew of the Starseeker looked in awe. “We have arrived at Halcyon, the year is 502573. November 11th on Earthmother. The future awaits!” The UN hymn started playing throughout the intercomms and echoing in the dome as flashing lights formed around us and embraced our cruiser.

An automated voice roared to life; "A destination has been reached. Initiating cryogenic release in 3... 2... 1."

What followed was the hissing of depressurization of ten illuminated chambers, each containing a perfectly preserved human encased within an artificial womb of sorts. The chamber doors slowly lifted, breaking the seal and allowing them to be able to lean upwards and to climb out with a burst of fluid.

Of the ten, only six emerged to take a deep breath. One of the six was seemingly incapable of being able to catch their own breath, and another began to profusely vomit over the side of the chamber. The remaining four were unable to be recovered from cryosleep and had no reported vitals, as indicated by the blaring alarms that echoed throughout.

"Please make way to the cockpit to engage the landing sequence."

A man groaned as he slipped out of his chamber. He was shivering and cold, and a wet slime dripped off of him. He took a look around the hall and yelled, "Hey! Something's wrong here!"

"An estimated fifty percent of those cryogenically frozen do not survive. Some of the surviving may also suffer complications, such as severe cellular damage. Everything seems to be in order."

"No, this is definitely not in order!" He said, moving along the wall until he came upon an oxygen cylinder. He rushed to the other's side to help, but even with the assistance, they still choked.

"Oh God... My stomach..." Croaked a second man.

"It appears that two of the crewmen are suffering from organ failure caused by cellular damage. Please report to the medical wing."

"Come on, let's go!" Spoke yet another, this time a woman. She and another woman moved to guide him out.

"Reminder that we have reached a destination. Please make way to the cockpit to engage the landing sequence."

"For fuck's sake! There's people dying here!"

"A crew member has died in cryogenic storage."

"What?" The man looked back at the struggling woman, whose face had gone pale-- "Damn it!"

"They're all dead..." Mumbled a third man.

"What?"

"Look."

It was then that the crew became aware of their dire situation: one of the six to emerge had already perished, another was soon to follow if he didn't receive immediate medical attention, and among the four that were unable to be recovered was the commanding officer. Someone would have to be elected for captaincy.

Those that remained were each eligible candidates, but only one would be able to man the ship and give orders to the crew. They would be tasked with foreseeing the colonization of the planet and forming a new society. It was no simple task.

Of the two men that were gathered, one looked up to a camera positioned in the corner of the room. "AI, initiate the election program."

"Initiating election program... The remaining candidates are; Armanda Taylor, personality archetype - "the explorer." Isandro Tomas, personality archetype - "the everyman." Yi Zemin, personality archetype - "the ruler." Luisa Violante, personality archetype - "the caregiver." and Lazare De La Fontaine, personality archetype - "the hero." Please announce your vote."

"Hah," Yi chimed, "everyone would be stupid not to pick me since I'm classified as the ruler. Yi Zemin!"

Lazare glanced away from the camera to Yi, "Yeah, well... I'm voting for Armanda Taylor."

"I'm voting for Luisa Violante." Armanda said with a nod, as she emerged in the doorway "we need someone to look after the crew."

"Final vote submitted. The elected candidate is Armanda Taylor. Please report to the cockpit immediately."

"She'll make for a fine doctor then."

Yi seemed to grow flushed upon hearing the results, though he masked it by giving Armanda firm handshake. "Congratulations, captain."

Armanda shook his hand, grinning widely as she glanced between the two. "I promise to guide us to success."

"I believe in you!" Lazare said with a smile.

Armanda separated from the pair and headed down the seemingly endless hallway of the ship. She followed a gold line that was etched into the wall, running past the other colors that ultimately lead to the departments of the ship, until eventually she had come across a door with a handprint scanner. She placed her hand upon the device and allowed for it to read her palm. Suddenly, the door had unlocked itself to allow her entrance.

Once inside, she found herself standing in a luxury suite. She continued past the self-serve bar and the sofas, and made her way toward the console closest to a vast window, where she found herself struck with awe. She could see the planet, and a few that were distant. It was a sight to behold.

"AI, send a broad length signal... I want to see if we have any neighbors."

"Pinging any nearby stations."

She watched closely as a nearby terminal began to ping, though nothing appeared to happen. Several minutes had gone by and no one seemed to respond. She noticed a date in the corner of the screen and figured that it must've been incorrect. Her eyes had to have been deceiving her.

"Uh.. AI, what is the current date?"

"The current date is January 1st, 1970."

"Would you mind explaining how we've somehow gone back in time?"

"It has been 500,000 years since the year 2022. Due to no more than four allocated slots in a MM/DD/YYYY format, the year is 1970."