Date: 10.10.2152

To: you, my only friend

Subject: what should I do?

hi,

something really unexpected happened.

I don't know how to react. I don't even know how I feel about it. Right now, I'm just numb, and I need to talk to someone. Preferably, you.

They just sent a new batch of terraformers to Neptune. 25 criminals in the eyes of the law, and among them was Mia S., now registered as Neptune inhabitant 0111, batch 4. Yes, I double-checked it. That is not a different Mia, and that is not a mix-up.

I can't wrap my mind around it. I know you're probably surprised as well. From what I've told you about Mia, one would never think she might run into any trouble with the law. Moreover, into such big trouble that she'd be sent to Neptune out of all places.

Of course, I immediately pulled up all her records and even the protocol of her trial, and I still can't quite understand how this came to be.

Apparently, shortly after we broke up she met this guy Steve J., who was not only a drug dealer but also a smuggler of forbidden tech. He was found dead on the street a couple months ago with his throat cut.

According to the court records, Mia was charged with aggravated assault and murder. Do you realize how ridiculous that is? I am sure that Mia would never kill anyone, and even if she did for some extreme reason, she would not use a knife. She would choose poison as her weapon – something that would let her keep her hands clean. Mia is a very cautious girl, after all.

Besides, however painful it is to admit it, judging from her social media and her texts with friends, her relationship with this Steve guy was quite peaceful and loving. Definitely much less rocky than ours. So if after everything, she didn't cut my throat, why would she do it to Steve? It doesn't make any sense.

She claimed in court, she was not guilty, but they found the murder weapon with her fingerprints on it, and apparently, it was enough to send her to that freezing hell of a planet.

The most heartbreaking and also confusing part of this is her email to her mother right after the trial:

I'm sorry, I don't even have the chance to say goodbye in person. I regret everything I've put you through. Now I can't make it better anymore, but at least you're safe. Please remember, whatever happens, I love you very much, and I will miss you more than you can imagine.

Did Steve threaten her family, and that's why she had to get rid of him? But why didn't she go to the police in that case? Was she scared of Steve's criminal connections? If so, why did she get involved with Steve in the first place? This is so out of character for her.

But now that I think about it, I realize that people do have a tendency to change, and maybe something happened in Mia's life in these past two years that made her into a completely different person.

On the other hand, I've witnessed numerous times "inconvenient" people framed by the government and given a one-way ticket to Neptune. The best example would be Carlos L. from batch 3, who tried to start a union at a toxic waste recycling company he was working at. He managed to hold exactly one meeting before his fingerprints mysteriously ended up on a gun used in an armed robbery.

Or I'm sure you've heard of Jianxi W. - his case had been in the papers for months due to the sheer brutality of the story. He was charged with defiling and cannibalizing 7 young women for some kind of satanic ritual. But you wanna know the truth? The guy was not a batshit crazy satanist. He was a translator who happened to do some projects on the side that the government was not so fond of. For some reason, it gives me joy that his illegal recap of a long-banned book "How the Steel Was Tempered" is still in circulation. Even though I personally find it boring.

Could it be that Mia was also framed?

Should I find out? Should I even care that much? Should I try to help her? Should I reach out to her?

In the end, I know I'm still in love with her, and that is never going to change. I've made my peace with not seeing her. I'm also fine if she's with somebody else. It's ok if she hates me and curses me. But what if she dies?

Whenever I imagine that my heart stops. I think I won't be able to live in a world without Mia. I'm used to being alone but not that alone.

Yours,

Ryan

Date: 10.10.2152

To: Mia S.

Subject: please don't delete

Mia,

I've heard what happened, and I'm very sorry. I know you forbade me to write to you ever again, but I need to know you're all right (as much as it is possible under these circumstances). How are you holding up? How is your family?

Please be strong and let me know if you need anything.

You know who