// transmission — channel 14.221.07 — secure
Welcome, applicant. You stand at the threshold of humanity's first sanctioned interplanetary colonization lottery. The process is rigorous. The stars are indifferent. The paperwork is, regrettably, eternal.
Three worlds remain open to civilian intake this cycle. Read the dossiers carefully — reassignment after departure is not permitted.
A red-ochre world of polar caves and equatorial salt flats. The original Hellas settlement has expanded into a six-dome network. Suited for engineers, hydrologists, and patient temperaments.
A blue-green water world circling a quiet K-type primary. 94% surface ocean. The first floating city is anchored in the Verdant Shelf. Recommended for marine biologists, sailors, and those who dream in tides.
A pale lavender moon orbiting the gas giant Iolanthe. Permanent twilight, bioluminescent ice plains, low tectonic activity. Reserved for artists, researchers, and those willing to live very, very quietly.
From application to landfall, six checkpoints stand between you and the new sky. Each phase has its own paperwork, its own wait, its own quiet.
Biographical intake, gravitational tolerance, preferred atmospheric composition. Paperwork in triplicate, archived to the Lunar Vault.
~ 14 daysMedical, psychological, and genealogical review. The Authority will speak with three of your relatives. They will be kind.
~ 60 daysTwelve weeks at the L5 Annex. Vacuum protocols, hydroponics, conflict mediation under low-gravity conditions, and one folk dance.
~ 84 daysVoluntary suspension in the Ascendant-class cryo-manifest. Dreams are not guaranteed but are statistically more pleasant than waking.
duration variesQuantum-tunneling corridor or sub-light coast, depending on your destination tier. Onboard libraries are extensive.
months — decadesTouchdown, decontamination, processing, and the first walk under a sky that is not Earth's. Citizens are permitted one private hour.
14 hoursType into the terminal below. Your responses are bonded to the manifest the moment you press ENTER on the final field.
> SYSTEM: ALOHA. CRT-7A boot complete. Operator on shift: Y.NAVID.
> SYSTEM: Form IIA-117 loaded. Please complete all six fields.
> SYSTEM: Paper copy will be filed in the Lunar Vault.
You are approved. Below is the spaceport at dawn. Take a long look at the horizon. The next one will not be blue.
Sealed and bonded. The next time you read these words you will be elsewhere. Travel well, applicant. The Authority is, finally, finished with you.