“Ladies and gentlemen, we will start in a moment, so can I have your attention please?” A man in a sparkling tuxedo is talking on the stage now, flashing his outrageously white rows of teeth at the gleefully cheering audience, “Thank you for being with us today and for sharing our excitement on this wonderful occasion.”
He beams at the audience, all hopeful and eager and thrilled.
“From the very beginning of our history, our ancestors have looked up to the night sky in the darkest hours and wondered partially in awe, mostly curiosity. A curiosity that prompts us, unique beings with thinking minds, to probe the improbable and to seek after the impossible. What kind of world exists out there? Are we really alone here? What actually lies behind those layers of darkness? And the most important question, can somewhere out there be our next habitat?
Today, my friends, the time has come for us. The time to start a new chapter on our journey. We share a common urgency, common understanding about how this world as we know it has ceased to be a home. It is no longer a loving place, it is no longer a place where we can raise our children safely and let them choose their own paths. This world has become a place so cold, so intimidating that sadly we have no options except to leave.
I am proud to present to you Blue Charlie, a devoted member of our team, whose contribution has helped us tremendously in realizing our shared dream of having a new home. Before I let Blue Charlie present itself to you, allow me to say some words as a farewell tribute to our dear Mother Earth:
The Earth is and will always be our first and beloved home. We will forever miss you and we hope that one day we can come back and restore your heyday’s glory.
Thank you.”
The audience breaks into waves of applause and the man in tuxedo leaves the podium, giving way to a robot sliding to the center of the stage.
“Thank you, thank you, ladies and gentlemen. I will make this short as possible, because time is a limitation we need to respect.
My name is Blue Charlie, the latest product of the Colors of Charlie, a project first started in 2018, over a century ago, and continuously updated from generation to generation in what will become one of the most important scientific relay races in history.
