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Filipe Oliveira Coelho

Filipe Oliveira Coelho

Escritor / filipeocoelho@gmail.com

The Ark

2 min readApr 13, 2021
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We went looking for another home aboard the Ark twelve years ago, and since last night the Earth is no longer visible with the naked eye.

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Bloodshed, famine and ever more deadly diseases swept the old nations fast. Fearing for the end of the Homo sapiens, the Phoenix Initiative was created in the 2050s. Thirty years after that, we departed from our planet, 7 young scientists, 1 old philosopher, me and 2 unexpected guests, 1 girl and her dog.

Hours ago, as we approached the next blue planet in our journey, things started to unravel. Neptune began pulling us closer, for it’s gravity was not only greater than expected, it increased at a faster rate too. But the Ark resisted. Then, at some point of the planet’s orbit, it’s enormous gravity turned spacetime into waves, and we began going up and down, like in a sea storm. The Ark was almost at her limit, but Neptune kept dragging us in. Captain Silva started shouting as we prepared to get into full thrust, our only chance of survival. I heard a crack, and as I looked back through the window, the last thing I saw before the explosion was the pale blue dot.

I am now blindfolded, or just blind, laying at the sick bay. I know that because I begin to recognize Dr. Chung’s voice, asking me if I can hear her.

We’re not dead yet.

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