Wednesday - October 15th, 2121:

Our home away from home hovered aloft in the cosmos. The Orion Space Station [O.S.S] spectated the stars and the changes on our wondrous planet - Earth. It was a constant— a stable reminder of humanity's prospects.

For me, those were the most enjoyable times. Being an astronaut aboard the O.S.S. was my biggest wish since I was a boy. And after years of grueling study, I was finally able to live out my dream.

Today, I was supposed to be off from duty, but of course, Catherine had to stop me and beg for me to do her spacewalk. 'Oooh, please! I'm soo not feeling well!' She said to me with a carefree smile that was clearly a veil to her lies. But this was Catherine— one of the laziest people aboard the O.S.S. I knew it— we all did. Whenever she couldn't be bothered, she would make up an excuse. Reluctant as I was, since it wasn't my duty to perform, I still went ahead with it. After all, being in the open vacuum of space— just you and your thoughts. It was a feeling that one could never get sick of.

Little did I know just how insane this spacewalk would inevitably end up being. From a normal event, it turned into something beyond comprehension. I got into my spacesuit, feeling the cumbersome weight that would turn into weightless bliss as soon as I stepped out.

Roger looked at me with a snarking grin as the helmet latched onto my head, "You always do end up looking the best with the helmet on. Hides that ugly mug of yours."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes, even if Roger couldn't see it from the helmet's reflective visor. "That makes one of us, at least. Not even a spacesuit can hide your stench, Crapshot."

Roger broke out in howling laughter, "Right, right! You're always so quick with the retorts, Mr. OnePump-Man."

The man patted me on the shoulder tenderly. What could I even say to him? All of us knew he was one of the longest-standing members of the O.S.S. he hadn't seen his family in several years now due to the mission. It made his humor a bit excessive, but he was one of the most caring people here despite it. "Thanks, Geezer. Save some grub for me when I get back. Don't shovel it all into your black hole of a mouth, okay?"

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"Yeah, yeah. Sure thing, Zit. Go out there and be a pain in somebody else's ass." Roger retorted, simply waving it off. But he couldn't hide the grin that creased his cheeks slightly.

I entered the decomp-chamber and awaited the process to depressurize and unlatch the outer shell. Once the process was completed, I pushed myself toward the external latch, where I tethered my safety cord. It was a practiced chain of events, one I'd done countless times before in my six-year tenure on the O.S.S.

Once I finished, my body drifted out into the open void of space, surrounded by the shimmering translucent stars that stretched out into the horizon millions and billions of lightyears away. "It's still as beautiful as the first time I witnessed it." The words came muffled from my helmet's voice projection box.

I performed my duties with ease, sending my body from one satellite unit to the next, inspecting and recording. The biggest hurdle to the process was the time it took. The O.S.S. was humanity's largest exploit to date. Its size was something our ancestors could only envision in their dreams.

Truly, the whole process was something satisfying.

But my peace could not last forever, as something changed in Earth's atmosphere. Pillars of light burst out from the firmament, the tips swirling like everlasting minuscule galaxies that burst forth from the very planet we called home.

I was baffled - shocked - scared out of my goddamned mind. "Roger, mayday. Mayday! What's the status? Report. Something's happening on Earth."

The response was nothing but silence. "Catherine? Vlad? Jora? Stephanie? Roger? Anyone respond? Do you see what I'm seeing?"

Was the radio not working, or was it something else? I could not have known back then. Their silence caused a stifling panic to stir in me, however. "Guys! Respond! We have a crisis out here! Can you not hear me?"

My panicked cries were cut short as the illuminating glow of Earth erupted into a visceral flood of stimulation. It drowned out my senses and my understanding. The entire planet was suffocated in that blinding glow that consumed everything in its path. It stretched out into the darkness of space. Blanketing my body and the O.S.S. until no color remained within my visor's sight.

All I could see was the light before me, behind me, and side to side of me. It was hot, not like a searing flame, but something more deliberate. It was incorporated into me. It melded with my consciousness until it came out on top. And everything stopped. Time, memory, even my very breaths halted seemingly. I could not see Earth, nor the O.S.S. I could not even see myself anymore. What remained was but a deathly calm and silence as my consciousness blurred into the void.