“…it looks so small!”

“…Can you believe it? We finally get to…”

“…last time the ship left the day before my 18th birthday, I had to wait two whole years…”

Mark tuned out the voices of the youngsters seated around him in the shuttle. His eyes were fixed on the slowly shrinking blue and green ball that had been his home. He refused to look away or even blink until the shuttle had turned away from earth. With earth out of sight, blackness filled the window.

The shuttles interior lighting turned the portal into a mirror. Mark found himself staring at a gaunt man who appeared to be about thirty. Smoky grey eyes stared into his hollowly, neglected finger length brown hair stuck out at odd angles. A crumpled white dress shirt hung loosely on the man’s thin frame; the top two buttons carelessly undone.

Mark studied his reflection for a time, it had been a while since he had given any real thought to his appearance. He was still mindful of his hygiene, but things like combing his hair and ironing his shirts no longer held any importance to him. Still, for a man who just celebrated his ninety-sixth birthday, looking like a world weary thirty-year-old wasn’t the worst. He just felt numb, tired from his long life and destroyed expectations.

Dragging his gaze away from himself, he looked at the other aspirants in the shuttle. He was surrounded by a sea of youngsters, excitement and fear coming off of them in waves. Their youthful appearances weren’t uncommon, since the Arrival, everyone looked young. Nevertheless, he knew these were children.

They held the vibrant vitality that was only present in the truly young, it was an intangible quality that people lost with age. Yet even without their excitement, or listening to their conversations, he felt confident that most of these people were children. More than ninety percent of all applicants were between the ages of eighteen and twenty.

He did spot at least three others scattered throughout the shuttle that he guessed were older than they appeared. He wondered idly why they chose to take the test. Had they grown bored of the peaceful life of post Arrival earth? Perhaps they had lost their livelihood, it was rare but it did happen. it was even possible they had lost someone important to them, like he… Mark shook himself, refusing to let his mind wander down that rabbit hole.

“Oh look, look, there it is! Wow, it’s huge”

“…damn, you’re right. So, that’s the ship huh. Hard to believe we will be spending the next year of our lives aboard that thing.”

Grateful for the distraction from his thoughts, Mark looked out the window again. The space ship, of alien design, seemed to slowly grow larger as they flew near. A small spark of awe welled up inside him at the sight. The feeling surprised him; he hadn’t felt much of anything since it happened. Still, he had heard about this ship and the Arrival for his whole life. It was hard not to be excited when he was actually going there in person.

It had been one hundred one years since the Arrival. That’s what everyone called it, the Arrival. The day an alien ship showed up in orbit above earth, and sent down thousands of shuttles to take people away to be tested. It also brought with it a number of new technologies that catapulted human civilization forward by leaps and bounds. Earth’s government had reset the calendar to coincide with the landing, making that year AA 1. Mark had been born about five years after Arrival or in AA 5, so he grew up in a world that was rapidly adjusting to the new way of life. He still remembered how things were back then, even after almost a century of life.

It had been crazy, no one really knew what was going on. The first two decades AA had been full of the unknown, fear, and blood. That time had been scrubbed from earth’s history books, and today’s youth knew nothing about how savage the “boring old people” had been, but Mark remembered.

The technology had been openly distributed, and Mark’s father had taken full advantage of that information to set his family up for life. Even with as long as people could theoretically live these days, he had made their fortune. He loved to tinker, and had run a small appliance repair shop. After Arrival, he had been able to add in a few modifications to his appliances and it had taken off.

It was like that for all the real powerful families on earth today. The first few years had been critical, once the power struggles finally ended it was very hard for anyone new to enter the ranks of the wealthy. That was a big part of why so many of the young went to be tested, earth was boring. With no one getting old or retiring, coupled with the fantastic new technologies, there wasn’t much for the next generations to do.

“I memorized the top one hundred rankers before the trip, I wonder how much it will change by the time we get there?”

“What? Aren’t we allowed to watch the broadcast from the ship? Red Hand is going to be fighting goblins soon and I wanted to see it”

“OMG, do you think I will be able to meet the ValkyrLee? She climbed to number thirty-six last month”

Mark sighed hearing the other reason so many kids went off to die, the broadcast. It hadn’t started right away, beginning in the year AA 7 when the ship returned for the fourth time. There was much speculation on the reason, but in the beginning most people agreed it was because no one lived long enough to BE broadcast.

It was a once a month download that followed the top one hundred humans who currently ranked the highest in the test. Most people called them Rankers for short, and the broadcast had quickly become earths favorite past time. Football, soccer, basketball, nearly all the games Mark remembered from his youth had been discarded. There were whole industries built around the Rankers, from merchandise and movies to gambling.

Mark grit his teeth as the kids talked about the Rankers. He had largely been indifferent to the Broadcast for most of his life, preferring to focus on his father’s business. Now though, whenever it was brought up his heart rate picked up, and he had to force himself to not think about how many families had been destroyed by the monthly download.

His thoughts, and their conversation were both interrupted by a flickering green light at the front of the compartment. All eyes focused on that point as the holographic image of an old man in antique military garb snapped into being. At nearly the same time a giant hatch began to open on the rapidly nearing ship.

“Greeting’s aspirants” it said speaking slowly, pronouncing each word clearly. “I will be your pilot on this trip. I will ask you all too kindly not panic. This is standard procedure and when you wake up next it will be time to start your orientation.”

Confused mutters filled the shuttle, as one hundred people tried to understand what the hologram was talking about. They had all seen the broadcasts, but no one knew what happened on the ship. The mutters turned to panic as a green smoky gas began seeping into the compartment. As it slowly built up, there were pleas for help and a few of the kids started crying. One person actually got up and took a swing at the image still calmly standing at the front.

Mark watched in amusement as the young man’s fist went right through the apparition. He didn’t know what was going on either, but he didn’t think they would have been brought all this way to be killed now. No, this was likely part of the test. The smoke filled his lungs and obscured his vision, Mark looked ahead towards the slowly opening hatch. His thoughts were growing muddled and he couldn’t help but feel that hatch was the maw of some ancient beast, ready to swallow him up.

His vision dimmed further, and he rested his head back against his seat. The aspirants who had been the most active were already unconscious. After a blink that lasted long seconds, Mark turned his head to view the others. Only a few were still awake, with a slight smile he noted they were the ones he had pegged earlier as old. He blinked again, but this time failed to open his eyes.

* * *

The next time his eyes opened, Mark found himself floating in an endless expanse of white. He tried moving his body and finding that he could, began to walk. Except with no point of reference he didn’t know if he was moving or simply walking in place. After a time, he gave up and simply floated in the expanse, waiting for something to happen.

“Well, Mr. Lee I have to say I’m impressed.” The voice arrived at the same time a small dot appeared above and ahead of him. He squinted, trying to bring it into focus while it moved slowly towards him.

“Normally, I have to wait much longer before I appear. I swear, you humans don’t make any sense to me. Every year hundreds, or thousands, of you jump into my shuttles all excited and ready for adventure. What happens the second anything interesting happens though? You panic and freak out ‘what’s happening, what is going on, I want to go home’ I swear.”

Mark stood and waited while the dot grew larger and took on the form of a scantily clad fairy woman with blonde hair and an attitude the size of her…assets. She came to a stop a few feet away and hovered before him, green shimmering wings fluttering behind her. He furrowed his brows in confusion, this wasn’t what he had expected. He didn’t react though, he still felt numb, simply waiting for her to continue.

“Ok, let’s see what we have here.” she waved her hand and a small screen appeared in front of her, she read quietly for a few moments before beginning to speak again. “Mark Lee, ninety-six years old, owner of his father’s appliance business. Widower, lost his entire family on earth in an accident during a family vacation…” she stopped talking at this point, looking worriedly at him.

He was shaking, and the year’s long numbness started to crack. He hadn’t thought about his family, wouldn’t let himself think about his family. They were all gone, his parents had been born pre-Arrival so weren’t eligible for the anti-aging therapy. As for the rest of his family… he shook his head, taking deep breaths in an attempt to break free of those memories. When he finally looked up again, he was shocked at the fairy’s appearance.

“I’m sorry for your loss Mr. Lee. I should have read your file before showing up, it’s just that I haven’t had a man over twenty on my ship in ten trips. Let’s start over, please.” It was the same woman standing before him. Only now, she was brunette, lacked wings, wore a grey pantsuit and had slimmed down to believable proportions.

Mark pulled himself together, numbness beginning to settle over him again. He was honestly a little ashamed about how easily he had fallen apart. It was already more than two years since the accident and he couldn’t be this distracted during the test. After a long moment, he was finally able to speak.

“I’m sorry, that was unbecoming.” He said, giving a small incline of his head. “I, as you apparently know, am Mark Lee. As you also apparently know, I am here because I have nothing left on earth. I would rather not talk about that however, could you instead tell me who you are and what to expect going forward please?” he kept his tone polite and formal. Since she was now dressed in business attire, he felt more comfortable addressing her that way.

“I am the Pilot, or a subroutine of the Pilot anyway. I am currently having similar conversations with all the male aspirants. Another subroutine is talking with the females, that one wears the face of a very handsome young man. I’ve extrapolated the data on the human species and…well, let’s just say that a skimpy outfit and a huge rack normally make my job a whole lot easier.” She sighed, pausing to read from the screen in front of her again before continuing.

“Based on your file Mr. Lee, I have to assume you want to go to the test planet to find your granddaughter, Molly Lee. It says here that she skipped the family vacation, and left on my ship while you were still recovering from the accident.” She said this with a gentle tone, very unlike how she had spoken during her arrival.

“How did…” Mark was shocked. She had nailed it; he hadn’t realized that the alien vessel had such detailed records. The people of earth knew that the ship was more advanced. It was obvious from the technology downloads and the simple fact that they had space travel at all. Earth still wasn’t anywhere close to achieving that on its own. Still, this program seemed to know everything about him.

“Don’t look so shocked Mr. Lee” she said with a girlish giggle. “Even before I was sent to your planet, humans could find out almost anything they wanted with a simple internet search. Every human born after my ‘Arrival’ has been changed on a genetic level by the anti-aging therapies I provided.” She said the word, Arrival, with finger quotes, like she thought it was funny. “I have recorded everything that happened on your planet since I first got here, and finding out about you was almost as simple as asking one of earth’s smart phones a question.”

Well, when she put it like that it was kind of silly to be so shocked. He had records of every item his company had ever sold and who he had sold it too after all. Still, to know that nothing was safe from this program was frightening. This was a level beyond the spying and manipulations of earth’s new world government.

“Alright, I can see where you are coming from.” He said at last “and yes, I am here to find my granddaughter Molly. She…our parting wasn’t the best.” He didn’t bother explaining himself, he felt confident that the Pilot already knew about the fight at the hospital that ended with her getting on this very ship. “Is she safe? Can you tell me where she is?” he asked hopefully.

“I am sorry,” she said smiling sadly at him. “I will tell you that she left my ship alive and in one piece, however that’s all I know. The Lady Earth had me built to watch over her planet and prepare her people for the test during the trip.”

Mark’s eyes widened while the Pilot spoke. Lady Earth, her planet and people, what was she talking about? He began to realize just how much his people had taken for granted. The ship had always been there, the bringer of eternal youth and wealth, who took the extra and unwanted population away to provide those who remained with entertainment. He wanted to ask a thousand questions and opened his mouth to do just that, but was cut off before he could even begin.

“No, Mr. Lee” she said the words kindly but firmly. “I understand how difficult this transition is on your people, hence the tits. But I can’t tell you anything else, my job is to prepare you for the test. If you want to learn more about Molly or Lady Earth, you have to pass the test.”

He wanted to argue, he so wanted to argue, but he could understand. He was in fact grateful; he at least knew that his granddaughter had indeed gotten on the ship and arrived safely at the test planet. He took a moment to settle his emotions, the Pilot waited patiently while he did.

“Alright” he said at last, “thank you for telling me what you could. Now, can you tell me what happens next?” Mark was starting to worry for an entirely different reason. Now that he knew his last living relative was alive, or had been when she left this ship, he started to realize that in all his years he never really paid any attention to the test or those who took it. He had seen a few downloads over the years, but the amount of blood they contained always turned him away. It reminded him of his younger days, and he didn’t like thinking about those either.

“Now,” she said looking back to the floating screen that held his entire life. “I will take you on a short tour, explain your options to you and let you take it from there.” She waved her hand and the endless expanse of empty white slowly morphed into a ship’s corridor. “If you would follow me,” she said before walking away. Shaking his head again, Mark followed.

* * *

“What the hell is this?” he asked, the words falling almost unbidden from his lips as he gaped at his new surroundings.

They were in the shuttle dock, watching as human bodies were unloaded by servitor robots. His eyes were drawn right away to the body of a thin man with disheveled hair and a crumpled white shirt. Before he could ask, the scene shifted. They were now in a huge hold stacked high with thousands of liquid filled tanks. The servitors were loading the bodies into them, and strapping them into place. Mark watched with terror filled eyes as a mechanical arm moved inside the tank and cut into the back of his head. There was minimal blood, and after it was cleared away, he watched as the arm inserted a small chip into his brain. As his head was being closed up, the “him” that was floating near the pilot looked around. A similar scene was taking place hundreds of times over. Each of the young aspirants getting the same procedure done.

“Relax Mr. Lee,” the Pilot said soothingly. “This is a recording of events shortly after your group boarded my ship. You are currently in stasis, floating in an augmentation pod. That implant allows you to experience a simulated reality. We are in a computer-generated world, this particular simulation being a simple recording brought into three dimensions.” She talked about virtual reality technology like it was child’s play. Mark was horrified, and yet couldn’t help being impressed.

“Ok” he said at last, “I think I understand. But what is the point of all this?” he was able to come to terms with what he saw remarkably quickly, so quickly in fact he had to wonder if he was being influenced in some way by that implant.

“Firstly, yes the implant is influencing you to some small extent.” She said answering his unspoken question first. “It has to, your species is too prone to breakdowns during the trip. The first few years were…disappointing, but with a small nudge you can get over mental trauma. Next it gives you access to the training simulations where you can earn points for body augmentations…”

“What do you mean by body augmentations, I never heard about that” he said interrupting her mid-sentence. He wanted to ask more questions, to shout that he hadn’t agreed to be a test rat in a lab. Her raised hand cut him off before he could continue however.

“Mr. Lee” she said calmly and slowly, it seemed to him like she was resigned to answering his questions. “At this very moment I am having this exact same conversation with a few hundred humans, all be it with minor variations. You are an adult, so I hope you can listen closely and not make me repeat this as many times as I have already to some of your peers.” She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before starting her explanation.

“I know from your file that you don’t pay much attention to the monthly downloads. With your history on earth in the beginning AA I can understand why, but please hear me out. On the shuttle ride up I heard the kids close to you talking about Red-hand and ValkyrLee. Are you familiar with them?” she asked before pulling up two lifelike and life-sized images and continuing without waiting for an answer. “This is Red-hand and ValkyrLee, they currently rank in the top one hundred for humanity. Notice anything different about them compared to you?”

Mark looked at the two holographic images intently. He instantly understood what she was talking about. ValkyrLee was an eight-foot-tall battle scared woman with huge feathered wings sprouting from her back, armed with a metal bow as thick as his arm. There was something about her that struck Mark as familiar, but he couldn’t place it. Red-hand was even larger, with red skin and devil horns. His right arm was made entirely out of red metal and his left eye had been replaced with a mechanical one that looked similar to a camera lens. He held a large pistol in his left hand, and had a short sword strapped across his back.

“Augmentations can be made on the test planet, and beyond, but they are expensive and painful. Most of this pair’s augmentations happened right here on my ship. That is the point of these tanks, and that implant. You can earn augmentation points by completing simulations and have them implemented while in the pod. No pain on your end and you get to accustom yourself to them before you arrive on the test world.”

“That only answers half my question” he shot back, “who said you could do this to me without my permission?” he was still quite angry that he hadn’t been told about this before boarding, he would have come anyway because of Molly, but there was something disconcerting about watching your head be cut open.

“Lady Earth gave me permission. She owns your planet and your entire species; your permission isn’t required. However, I would like to remind you Mr. Lee; that I have never once in over fifty visits to your planet forced anyone to board my shuttles… the same cannot be said for some of your oldest generation, of which you are a part.”

Her words bit deep, and he flushed with shame and anger. He didn’t relish what they had done, but it had been necessary. The world was a different place in the first years AA, and anyway it had been more than fifty years since that mess had been put behind him. Still, he understood her point. Although he didn’t understand how someone could own a planet, he realized that she wasn’t going to elaborate.

“Fine, I understand. Thank you for your clarification and… I’m sorry.” He said, knowing that he had erred. He had after all boarded the ship, the very alien ship, of his own free will. “Can we continue on with the tour please, what comes next?”

She smiled at his apology, and with a wave of her hand the two rankers disappeared along with the rest of the huge room. They were back in the endless white. Mark looked around at the jarring change before turning to await her next words.

“Thank you for understanding Mr. Lee,” she said at last. “Although programs like myself are theoretically immortal, I was commissioned and activated only the year before AA 1 on your world. I have spent my whole existence to this point flying back and forth between your earth and the test planet. One way is empty and lonely, the other is full of whiny and confused children who don’t understand just how big the galaxy truly is and how small a role they play in it.”

Mark looked at the Pilot in a whole new light, if she spoke the truth, she wasn’t even a decade older than he was. He thought about how her existence must have been, and felt the need to apologize again. However, before he could find the words, she broke the spell.

“I suppose we should continue. Next, and last, on our tour is the tutorial simulation. Let’s move along.” With those words and a wave of her hand, the empty white expanse began to shift once more.