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4.

CHAPTER FOUR.

Before I can ask more questions, the door at the far end of the room swings open, and a tall woman strides in, her presence commanding immediate attention. Her dark hair is slicked back into a tight bun, and she wears a long white coat with a badge clipped to the notch lapel. Her gaze is sharp, assessing each of us like we're specimens under a microscope. She’s followed by several other people, all of them clearly part of NASA’s executive. The tension in the air thickens as they make their way to the front of the room.

“That’s Dr. Alericap,” Caitlyn whispers.

Dr. Alericap steps onto a small platform with a podium and a small microphone that could pass as a fist. She clears her throat, silencing the murmurs that had started to spread among the group. Her eyes sweep over the room, and for a moment, I feel her gaze linger on me. It’s brief, but unnerving.

“Welcome, all of you,” she begins, her voice authoritative yet strangely calm. “I'm Doctor Alericap Thalia, the Associate Administrator at NASA. I know many of you are wondering why you're here, chosen for this mission. Why death row inmates, of all people, have been given a second chance—why NASA, of all organizations, bought your freedom and is interested in you.”

Her words hang in the air, and I can feel the unspoken question on everyone's mind: Why us?

Dr. Alericap doesn’t leave us waiting for long. She presses a button on a remote in her hand, and the screens across the room shift to display a planet. It's a colossal mass of swirling colors and strange formations. It reminds me of the seven colors of a rainbow. It’s breathtaking, and for a moment, I forget to breathe. The planet looms large, its surface glowing with an eerie light, as though alive and pulsating with energy.

“This planet,” she continues, “is known as Xyriel. It was discovered a year ago, but not publicly disclosed to humanity because of the threat it looms. Xyriel has been moving closer and closer to Earth at an alarming rate. As many of you already know, its collision with our planet would be catastrophic. It could lead to our extinction. We have less than six months before impact.”

A murmur ripples through the crowd, but Dr. Alericap raises a hand, silencing it.

“We’ve sent multiple unmanned probes to Xyriel, all of which have confirmed what we feared: there is life on this planet. And not just microbial life like discovered on Mars—sentient, intelligent life.”

Her words send a chill down my spine. I look around, seeing the shock mirrored on everyone’s faces. Sentient life? On a planet moving towards Earth? Aliens?!

She continues, her voice steady. “But there’s more. Xyriel has the ability to influence other celestial bodies. It's nothing we’ve encountered before. The scientists who’re currently studying it believe it’s capable of reshaping entire galaxies, manipulating gravitational fields, and—most disturbingly— degrading planets it comes into contact with.”

I blink, trying to process everything she’s saying. Manipulating galaxies? Degrading planets? This is far beyond anything I imagined.

“Which brings us to you guys,” Dr. Alericap says, her eyes locking onto the crowd once again. “I will be honest, all of you have been chosen for your expendability.”

I flinch at the last word. Expendability. It’s not exactly a comforting thought, but it makes sense. We’re prisoners, after all—people on death row.

“We need people who are willing to take risks,” she continues, “to venture into the unknown, placing their lives on the line. You will be trained, briefed, and provided with the best technology we have. Your mission is simple: you're to explore Xyriel, make contact with its inhabitants, and determine whether there is any way to stop the planet’s collision with Earth.”

The enormity of it all sinks in. We’re being sent to negotiate—or maybe even fight—on behalf of humanity. It sounds insane, impossible. But then again, what other choice do we have? We were people doomed to die anyways.

Dr. Alericap pauses for a moment, letting the gravity of her words settle. Then she turns and gestures to the screens, which now show images of strange landscapes on Xyriel—vast deserts and oceans, towering mountains, and alien cities that seem to defy logic. It looks like a place out of a fantasy world. It's ethereal.

“This mission is the last hope for Earth,” she says, her voice quiet but filled with conviction. “And all of you, whether you believe it or not, are the only ones capable of pulling it off.”

I look around at the other inmates, trying to gauge their reactions. Some are still in shock, their faces pale with disbelief. Others, like a particular ginger head guy standing a few feet away from me, seem oddly calm, as if they've already accepted their fate.

Then someone steps forward. It's a guy. He has red hair and oddly resembles the kid used as ‘Wendy’s’ Logo. “What if we're not interested? Can we back out? This seems like a suicide mission,” I notice the British accent in his tone.

Some part of the crowd agree with what the guy says, while some larger part remain quiet. Me? I’m too busy trying to figure out if Ginger Guy’s actually breathing—he’s that calm. There's a bored look on his face as he rests his back against the wall, crossing his arms around his chest.

Dr. Alericap doesn’t even flinch. She calmly adjusts her microphone, her voice smooth like she’s about to deliver a TED Talk. “Aren’t you all technically dead? Ghosts?”

The whole place is still.

“We bought everyone's freedom from the state,” she continues. Her tone is deadly calm. It sets me on edge, and I'm very sure that I'm not the only one who feels that way. “meaning we own both your lives and any sort of decisions you might be making in the future.”

Wendy’s logo pales.

“You’re not interested? Leave! You want to back out? Leave! But as you leave, we'd be taking back the life we so kindly bought.”

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