Chardon Vikroy, Chief Starship Commander—Discovery Division, motioned toward a chair as Jarslav Stanislaw entered his quarters.
"Jarslav, so good of you to join me."
"My apologies for being late, Commander."
"Jarslav, how long have we been friends?"
"Fourteen years."
"Yes, fourteen years, and so many good times. Now you're the Esteemed Fellow of Archives aboard the Starship IUP Nulli Secundus. We haven't had a chance, just the two of us, to drink to that. What would you like?"
"Commander, I really have lots of work to do."
"Jarslav, you've stopped calling me Chardon in my own quarters and you're consistently working late. Those aren't healthy precedents."
"I'm sorry, sir. I'm mean, I'm just overwhelmed, Chardon. We've been compiling reports from the surface team. You won't believe the findings."
"Actually I would because I'm holding answers to many of my lifelong questions."
"How did you?"
"Jarslav, have you forgotten that I'm still the commander?"
"Of course not."
"Maybe you've forgotten how much your particular area of expertise interests me. Your academy thesis on human origin was particularly compelling."
"Thank you. I haven't forgotten."
"Slow down, my friend. Are you going to tell me your preference or will I have to order a drink for both of us?"
After Vikroy's material emulator produced drinks, he and his subordinate reclined in uniforms identical except for small detachable insignias just below the right shoulder blade. The Intergalactic Union of Planets (IUP) expected all personnel to be seamless teams in times of peace and wanted no visual markings to distinguish commanding officers during any potential conflicts. All personnel wore a small wristband capable of producing a holographic file of detailed information. A self-destruct function corroded the hardware in the event of capture.
Conflicts and capture of IUP personnel had been rare in the last few centuries but men like Commander Vikroy reminded everyone the universe was expanding at an increasing rate while strange discoveries were continually being made. Most intelligent life encountered on Vikroy's explorations had been amenable towards IUP's mission of enlightened self-interest. Some societies had already accepted invitations to enter IUP under probationary status. IUP had continued to grow because members understood contributions to the union were rewarded. New advances in cellular therapy, for example, that helped beings live longer and healthier lives might allow others more years to develop new foods or create enhanced edutainment options. Ancient human civilizations had used economic philosophies based on monetary exchange in attempts to create similar results but failed because they lacked proper incentives. IUP had no such obstacles. Technology had fulfilled all the basic needs of all IUP subjects. Food, shelter, and security were easily provided. When needed, IUP could induce rain, disrupt potentially damaging storms, deactivate volcanoes, smooth tectonic plates, and gradually replenish diminished magnetospheres. Much of the technology consisted of advanced applications of lasers and magnetic forces, but IUP scientists had also learned to harness the natural resources of various stellar bodies while gaining understanding of the specific composition of the space-time continuum. Most important, native IUP subjects were born collaborators.
Having fulfilled physical needs and desires through technology many millennia ago, subjects had turned their attention to spiritual and ethical concerns. Although historians and scholars couldn't reach a clear consensus on the specific period of time, there were two to three centuries of turmoil known as The Great Unrest when widespread violence erupted between subjects and even some of the planets with disastrous results. Afterwards IUP established more academies for its most gifted children and expedited interplanetary transfers for those who excelled in particular specialties since everyone knew Yadimo 4 was the best place for logistical scientists while Simbherr 3 was the greatest spot for aspiring horticulturalists. Galactic travel allowed willing children to attend academies on distant planets once they formed a strong desire and demonstrated aptitude in a particular field. Compressed school calendars and distance education allowed them to spend several months consecutively with their parents. Cooperation allowed planets that were strong in agriculture to exchange some of their experts for engineers or doctors and vice versa. IUP also had many rotating positions that allowed personnel to work on one planet for a period before moving on to another. This allowed productive personnel to travel and also spread their expertise throughout IUP.
"Jarslav, what has been the greatest achievement of IUP?"
"Imbuing a collective spirit of collaboration. Everyone knows that."
"Good. Maybe I won't have to order you to take recuperative leave on one of the resort planets."
"You wouldn't dare do that right now."
"I do what's in the best interest of the crew."
After The Great Unrest IUP also took steps to rehabilitate malcontents. Unproductive, violent, or otherwise disorderly subjects were taught the benefits of a collaborative life in rehabilitation centers if a fair trail determined such action was necessary. Most of them eventually understood they could work in whatever field they chose as long as they were productive and ethical. Productivity would result in their choice of life on other planets, exotic vacations, and engaging simulations in IUP entertainment units. Noncompliance or any sort of activity against the collaborative aims of IUP that proved incorrigible would result in the choice of residence in a labor camp on Lazaretus 8, house arrest, or exile to Carsezno 8—a barren planet transformed into a penal colony. Most current IUP subjects couldn't imagine being born without an inherent desire for collaboration because human spirituality had evolved and medical science had virtually eradicated mental illness but they were taught such people had existed and could perhaps exist again if all subjects were not thoughtful when making their choices.
If too many people pursued a vocation such as writing or farming, the incentives available per each person would diminish—information IUP made widely available. Conversely if there were not enough city planners or statisticians IUP would increase vacation and edutainment credits while increasing recruitment efforts. Subjects were allowed to pursue vocations and avocations of their choice but the undecided were often swayed by fluctuating benefits associated with various careers. Subjects were allowed to change careers after a period of productive service.
Vikroy had known he wanted to discover new worlds since he was old enough to gaze at the stars. The only trouble he consistently got into as a boy was a result of looking at stars when he should have been sleeping. Vikroy otherwise applied himself diligently to become the youngest starship commander in IUP history. He could've have chosen to shuttle civilians, transport resources, command security forces, escort diplomats, supervise scientific expeditions, coordinate climatic maneuvers, or do other tasks but he wanted to explore and discover. When Vikroy's vessel detected complex life forms, copious intelligence was gathered before first contact. Vikroy offered any type of technological, medical, or other assistance when pertinent but graciously retreated if his offers were spurned. He had yet to encounter any society more technologically advanced than IUP but he knew it could be in the next solar system. IUP had achieved travel between galaxies by learning how to rip tears in the space-time continuum but there were still mysteries. Its spaceships could detect and navigate around black holes, but no one fully understood them. No one knew exactly where the universe was going. Some historians uncovered evidence ancient humans had been certain it would end during a specific time frame, one day predicting a fiery demise while mere decades later prognosticating a gradual freeze. Their claims were reportedly based on science but men like Vikroy often struggled to understand how scientific men could have been so incredibly misled and yet so vainglorious. He preferred to believe such accounts were apocryphal. Of course there were lots of things he wanted to believe were apocryphal. IUP had a transcendental vision from its beginnings yet even it was marred by The Great Unrest. Humanity though had been marred by much worse. Vikroy knew he had discovered just how wrong it could have gone with this latest expedition.
"So what do you think, Jarslav?"
"Very good drink. Thank you."
"Of course, the ME made them. What do you really think about this planet?"
"It's odd. There might be advanced life under the oceans but something wiped out all complex life on land and poisoned the environment perhaps aeons ago."
"That something was war—just shortly after the first planetary colonists departed. Jasrslav, this is our motherland."
"You can't be serious."
"Why not?"
"Evidence indicates they received The Message."
"Yes."
"How? How could they annihilate themselves like that if they had received The Message?"
"Apparently they twisted it into a thousand or so different messages."
"How?"
"I believe you know already, but just don't want to say it. Most of them were relatively primitive humans unaware of or unconcerned about the spiritual realm. It's not our place to judge."
"So this was really it?"
"Yes. Tristitia 3 is the place they called Earth."