Who among the reasonable members of humanity has never pondered the question: «Are we really alone in the entire Universe?» Who hasn’t longed for an answer that they both hoped for and feared at the same time? Because if we truly aren’t alone in this World, then who are our space neighbors? Do they know about the existence of Earthlings, and what are their intentions? Are they friendly or hostile towards us?
The author of «Emmy on Earth» suggests that we accept the scenario in which we are, on the one hand, not alone, yet on the other, of little interest to a supercivilization. However, one of its members – a crew member on an important mission – does take a personal interest in Earthlings. Emmy’s restless nature, strong will, and desire to help others compel her to take action. At the same time, she is in a constant search for happiness and, once she finds it, is ready to share it with someone else.
This story begins in another part of the galaxy, fifteen hundred light-years away from Earth, on a planet called Mephius, which is one and a half times the size of our own. Life on Mephius originated significantly earlier than on Earth, and the civilization there was rapidly approaching the zenith of its development. Medicine and technology enabled people to live for an average of about five hundred years, ensuring very high efficiency in all areas of science. The inhabitants mastered complete control over their emotions and unlocked all the secrets and peculiarities of the human body. By the time scientists had determined the exact date of their sun’s collapse, the planet’s population was around seventeen billion people. They had less than three hundred thousand years remaining before life there would become completely impossible.
The advanced progress in the study of deep space and exact sciences had freed the researchers from concerns about the preservation of their civilization; the only task remaining was to select the most suitable planet for relocation. Nearby – if such a term could be employed – at distances ranging from seven hundred to one and a half thousand light-years, there were six potentially habitable planets. One of them was Earth.
At first, for a more thorough examination of the star systems and their planets, the scientists sent robots to those distant areas. When the machines arrived, they succeeded to gather all conceivable data and to transmit it back to Mephius. Two of the planets, as it was discovered, were completely unsuitable for life for various reasons. However, the remaining four planets proved to be quite good, offering the possibility for human existence and prolonged, comfortable habitation. Admittedly, they required a minor degree of external intervention, which was not a challenging task for such an advanced civilization.
Since there were four planets, the scientists decided to prepare a starship for each, equipped with all the necessary tools and technologies, allowing the easy establishment of favorable conditions both on the planet and within the destined solar system.
Four crews were assembled and trained. They comprised the brightest young minds and promising scientists, each possessing high stress resilience and the essential skills required for a mission of this magnitude.
Each crew consisted of seven individuals, five women and two men. All members were well-versed in various scientific disciplines, which enabled them to divide the territory upon arrival and start the transformation of the new planet into their future cozy home. They had been prepared for this journey from birth and had been instilled with all the necessary knowledge and skills.
The data collected by the robots helped scientists to create embryos that were given the names «Human-Planet Name.» In the case of our Earth, this resulted in Human-Earth 4, or Human-E4 for short. All these planets were named uniformly, just with a numeral added at the end to indicate their distance from Mephius. Each required its own type of embryo due to slight variations in the planets’ characteristics: gravity, percentages of nitrogen and oxygen in the atmosphere, atmospheric pressure, and many other factors.
Without these new types of human embryos, the seven crew members and their small future offspring would scarcely have had enough time to transform the planet into a cozy and well-equipped home suitable for the relocation of the entire race.
Each team had its own leader. Before launching of the first starship to the planet, the four mission commanders were brought together and briefed on all their objectives and tasks, along with the precise actions required to achieve them. There was a spirit of rivalry instilled among them so that they would not shirk from the extra-complex goals and challenges they might face in the new world. After all, even the inhabitants of the most advanced civilizations are not immune to laziness.
The entire race, along with the technologies developed by the Mithiusians by that time, would go to the planet that would show the best result by the five thousandth year of their habitation. That’s what the rivalry was all about. The three other planets would become resource extraction sites, obligated to send seventy-five percent of their primary resources to the central planet chosen for relocation. This information greatly motivated the four groups, and they all set their minds to the task ahead.
