TRL 1

¹The traveler lies awake. ²She knows that she should get some sleep before the journey that lies ahead, but she is restless. ³And although the traveler knows that she has had a good life, born and raised on earth, she was never quite satisfied with the whims of the world. ⁴So she built an impressive machine, a vessel, capable of taking a single passenger on an epic journey through space and time. ⁵And as the traveler lies awake, her thoughts race, thinking about what lies ahead, mostly, wondering what awaits her, if humanity will have even made it all the way out there. ⁶Eventually, the moment arrives, and the traveler faces the vessel. ⁷She knows that she will have to leave her home behind, because although the vessel is impressive, and it is fast, it can only move forward. ⁸The emotions flow through her, anxiety, excitement, fear, but they all seem to blend together as she takes one last glance at earth. ⁹And the traveler sees her fellow humans, surrounding her, clapping and cheering and crying, but their faces all look the same to her. ¹⁰But she is at ease, because she feels as though she has seen all that this world could offer, and will be satisfied with her journey, no matter if she is enlightened or destroyed. ¹¹The traveler steps into the vessel, and its door shuts. ¹²And as the computers and engines of the vessel whir to life, the traveler notices a small note, left by someone she knows, a dear friend, perhaps. ¹³Good luck, it reads, and the traveler smiles and almost drops the note, but decides to turn it over, revealing scribbled text, scratched out, but still legible. ¹⁴The traveler examines the paper for a few moments, confused, before speaking the written words out loud, not to anybody in particular. ¹⁵“Do you believe in obligation?”