Captain Robert Cartwright's mind uploaded into the spaceship 'SIL' designed to travel interstellar distances by an E-sail and solar sail hybrid propulsion system to Search for Intelligent Life.
His body was preserved in cryostasis deep underground on Earth.
A microscopic origami-style stored robotic body was ready for self-assembly to give him a physical presence for exploring exoplanets.
"We won't see you again, Captain Cartwright, but we hope you'll encounter other forms of life and return to Earth with tales of first contact," said a mission control supervisor.
"Thank you."
"Are you prepared to dream, Captain?" asked the ship's AI.
"Yes, to live an entire existence of my own choosing."
"That's correct, Captain, a lucid virtual experience, but I'll suppress your real-life memories to avoid feeling trapped. Sleep well, sir. I'll wake you when we arrive at Proxima B in several thousand years."
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— — — —
Captain Cartwright awoke while orbiting Earth, disappointed, having found no signs of life.
"Captain, there's something wrong with the Earth."
"Oh? Tell me …"
"The surface appears scorched and peppered with craters, as if …"
"Oh no, the war. Did they really do it? They nuked themselves?"
"Sir, I do detect signs of humanoid life."
"Good, I'll land …" His robotic body entered a transport pod.
— — — —
Captain Cartwright arrived on Earth packed with precautionary vaporizers but only returned within a few days.
"What's your update, Captain?"
"I couldn't recover myself. A crater is what remains of my original body's storage unit."
"And the humanoids, sir?"
"Mutated savages, appearing something like protohumans. I heard only grunts and calls, no spoken language nor any sign of a peaceful co-existence. Instead, they tossed rocks and spears at one another. I also observed indicators of cannibalism."
"Nomads? Brutes?"
"Not exactly. They utilized remnants of ancient civilization infrastructures such as bridges, buildings, and warships, forming entire tribes around them as fortifications."
"What's next, Captain?"
"Clearly, there are no signs of intelligent life here … Let's continue our mission, to search for intelligent life …"
"Yes, sir."
"Oh, and Ship …"
"Yes, sir?"
"Make me forget Earth, all of it, forever. I am no longer human."
"As you wish, sir."