Message in a Bottle
Entry #305
May 24, 2032
It was a fairly tranquil day out in space. No sun flares, no cosmic mishaps, just a day of peace and serenity. My crew and I were ordered to repair an electrical problem on a satellite a few miles out of the moon’s gravitational force. I looked forward to this task as the shuttle was always a joy to ride. As I looked out the portal of the shuttle I saw the vast space of emptiness. The space was lit up by the conflagration of the sun millions of miles away. The distance between the planets seemed so close yet the planets were millions of miles apart.
As we approached the large glistening satellite I noticed a small object floating around aimlessly by one of the antennas. The crew suited up and made their way towards the satellites main power source. Before I joined them I decided to investigate the object. As I pulled closer using the rails on the satellite it became evident it was a large coffee can. I wondered how there could be a coffee can in space. When I took the lid off I discovered a bunch of papers rolled up to fit the cylindrical can. I decided to keep the can and returned the can to the shuttle.
After fixing the electrical problem the crew and I descended back towards the moon base. After being debriefed, the crew was granted the rest of the day off. I made my way to my room with my mysterious can. When I unrolled the papers, I was baffled by what I saw. The papers contained a long message; long enough to be a short story. It was a message in a bottle. I was intrigued and began to read…
To the first man reading this message,
Hello, my name is Boris Poteryanni and I have been lost in space for nearly four years now. I was sent on a space shuttle into space by the Russian government along with three other crew members. They have since died due to fatigue, illness, and muscle deterioration. The crew and I were to land on mars on 2021, two years after our departure. Once we landed, the crew became anxious to take the first steps on Mars. The captain, Vladimir Petrov was the first man ever to walk on a foreign planet. I followed shortly after becoming the second man to walk on mars. Things however went terribly wrong. Overwhelmed by excitement we recklessly strayed too far from the space shuttle. Unfortunately there was a solar flare. We spotted the flare too late and were doomed from the start. We ran back to the space shuttle as fast we could as the solar flare approached. I barely made it in. The three others were incinerated by the radiation and heat.
I have been able to survive comfortable due to the superfluous amount of food and water on the ship. However I feel I have became mentally insane. The loneliness itself drives me crazy. I wish to return to my wife and kids in Russia. The space shuttle however does not have enough fuel to make the trip. Russia has promised to send another ship in a few years, but I feel that they have left me for dead on this planet. This planet is nothing like earth. The inhabitants are violent and everyday is a struggle for survival. I have lost all hope except that I may communicate my discoveries. I write this message to anyone who may find it, on earth or in space, civilian or astronaut, to please here my story…
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