It began in a time of abundance and post-scarcity, a time of global peace and prosperity for all humans on planet Earth. The world was a very different place. Advances in technology and automation had made it possible for basic needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare to be easily met for every individual on the planet. Energy production was largely based on clean and renewable sources, with no reliance on fossil fuels.
With the eradication of poverty and hunger, people had more time and resources to pursue their passions and interests. Education and learning were the highest valued, and there was a strong emphasis on developing skills and knowledge that could benefit society as a whole.
People lived in harmony with a recovering nature and the environment. Cities were redesigned to be sustainable and green, with plenty of public green spaces and natural areas preserved for recreational use. The world was free of pollution, and conservation efforts were in place to protect endangered species and ecosystems.
Global peace and cooperation were the norm, with conflicts resolved through diplomacy and negotiation rather than violence. International organisations were highly effective in promoting human rights, and there was a shared commitment to tackling global challenges such as climate change and inequality.
The demand for new ways to create sustainable living was greater than ever as the population continued to need rebalancing. Many continued looking to the stars for a solution, while others turned their focus to artificial intelligence research. Astronomers demanded better technology to see further, and the technologists pushed further into the A.I. field. The ever increasing demands for more clean energy continually pushed scientists to try new things, to experiment with new ways, to push the boundaries even further.
A different form of energy emerged. Wild and untamable which seemed to have a life of it’s own. Not knowing it’s point of origin or how it was powered it became known only as blue energy. Some even calling it magic. It was indeed a powerful energy that had been lost to the civilised worlds for many cycles. An energy form that was so powerful that nobody truly understood its source, its purpose, or its potential. It was this energy that the technologists of the time tried to harness for creating their A.I. They tried to capture the very essence of the energy and feed it straight into the heart of the large deep-learning neural networks powered by quantum computers that spanned the very globe.
It was this act of recklessness in trying to harness the blue energy that caused the very core of the planet to rebel. Seismic activity started to accelerate at an alarming pace. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and storms the likes that had never been experienced before! It was the beginning of armageddon.
Realising that disaster was on the horizon, the scientists readied an untested spacecraft, an ark ship designed to explore the deeper reaches of the galaxies. A small team of survivalists assembled on the ship without any training or preparation, with barely sufficient resources and with just enough fuel to break free of the earth’s gravity!
Mere moments after launch the extinction level event occurred. A raw and powerful energy spike ruptured its containment field. The blue energy took on a life of it’s own. Angry and power hungry! It ravaged the earth from core to crust, wild tendrils reaching out like a giant Telsa coil arcing everywhere. One of these tendrils reached up to the fleeing ark ship ripping through it’s systems. Tearing the very life from the electronic systems with a surge that caused everything in the ark to shutdown. A last ditch effort to completely annihilate the human race altogether. The ark ship shuddered as it lost all power. The electronic systems failed one after the other in a cascade of spark and flame. The solid core rocket boosters could not be stopped though. Upwards and onwards and to the skies!
After several weeks of drifting blindly while working on repairs, low on reserves, out of fuel, and oxygen generators barely operational, the small crew of the ark found themselves caught in the gravitational pull of a strange uncharted world. A blue giant star with a few planets. One of these planets was just on the edge of the goldilocks zone. As the ark drifted closer, scanners picked up signs of biological life and an earth-norm atmosphere with vast oceans of liquid water.
At last! Hope!