Chapter Text
Cosima’s eyes felt heavier than they have ever been before in her life. She put in all her effort to squeeze them open, but it was so bright she was almost blinded.
“Good morning, Cosima. How are you feeling?” a robotic voice says.
Wait. What? She thought.
“It's perfectly normal to feel confused. You just spent 120 years in suspended animation.”
What? Cosima couldn’t comprehend what was going on. She had absolutely no clue where she was or how on earth she had got there. Cosima attempted to open her eyes again and this time was successful. She was in a huge room, full of thousands of pods of sleeping passengers. Each one connected to a central machine. The room seemed to go on for ever, with row after row of pod repeating. She couldn’t comprehend what was going on.
“It's okay, Cosima. Just breathe. Everything is okay.” A holographic 3D female face was staring out at her from a screen. Talking to her. She knew her name. What was going on?
“Where am I?” Cosima asked.
“You're a passenger on the Starship Avalon, the Homestead Company's premier interstellar starliner. We've nearly completed the voyage from Earth to your new home. The colony world of Homestead II. A new world. A fresh start. Room to grow.”
“Yeah.” That’s right, Cosima was beginning to remember now, her brain had started working again.
“The Avalon is on final approach. For the next four months, you'll enjoy space travel at its most luxurious. Food. Fun. Friends.”
“My friends.” She said, she laughed in her head. None of her friends had joined her on this trip. She was the only one who wasn’t married with kids. She was the only one with nothing to live for on earth, so why not start a new life on a new planet. Not only a completely fresh start, but also an opportunity to colonise a new planet, and study the complex biology that quite literally nobody else would have done before.
“That's right, Cosima. The ID band on your wrist is your key to the wonders of the Avalon. You're in perfect health, Cosima. Let's get you to your cabin, where you can get some rest.”
Cosima’s pod had pushed her up so she was now standing up. She walked forward having no idea where to go, yet white lights on the floor quidded her out of the massive room full of pods and into a seemingly endless white corridor. Doors lined alternating sides of the corridor, each with their own number on.
After a few minutes of walking Cosima felt extremely sick. She felt burning hot and but also freezing at the same time. Her stomach felt like it was on a roller coaster but she wasn’t quite at the stage of vomiting yet. Her vision was starting to go blurry around the edges. What was wrong with her. This wasn’t the luxurious space travel she had been promised. Surely feeling like death wasn’t normal.
“You may be experiencing post-hibernation sickness. Your door will illuminate for you.”
A door labelled 324 lit up blue, and as Cosima walked passed the doors slid open.
“Welcome to your cabin, your home until we make landfall. Over the next four months,
you'll prepare for your new life on Homestead II, meet your fellow passengers, take skill-building classes, and learn about colonial living. You've been assigned to learning group 21 for passengers with biology and engineering technical trade skills.
Her room was small. equipped with a single bed, a wardrobe and what looked like a small en suite bathroom. Much like her student digs at the University of Minnesota, but way more modern. Everything was greys and whites, smooth and slick.
“Please scan your ID to confirm luggage delivery.”
Cosima was really feeling sick now. Sweat covered her body and her head was screaming. Her feet weakened under her and she had to lean hard against the wall to stay up.
“Cosima. Please scan your ID to confirm luggage delivery.”
Cosima moved her wrist to a holographic circle that had appeared in front of her.
A glass of pink liquid appeared from a hole in the wall, and Cosima realised just how thirsty she was.
“To help you recover from hibernation, be sure to drink plenty of fluids. Enjoy the rest of your voyage on the Avalon, a Homestead Company Starship.”
Cosima quickly slurped the strange pink drink, not taking the time to notice the taste. The robotic hologram woman had disappeared now. Cosima crashed on her bed and was asleep within seconds.