Distant Immigrants

Proxima Centauri b, 4.2 light-years from Earth, welcomed a group of uninvited guests.

The Nüwa Interstellar Spaceship.

This was an interstellar colonial vessel launched by Earth Civilization twenty-five years ago. Powered by nuclear fusion, it was thirty-eight meters long and had a maximum speed of one-sixth the speed of light.

That speed had already reached the standard level for an Interstellar Civilization. Even for an Atomic Civilization, or even the more advanced Micro-particle Civilization, most spacecraft traveled no faster than this.

If there was no hurry, maintaining this speed was the most cost-effective choice, known as an energy-saving cruising speed.

But how could Earth Civilization not be in a hurry? There simply was not enough time!

This was already the fastest manned spacecraft in human history, painstakingly built by the Huaxia Kunlun Project.

It carried the greatest dream of every spaceflight worker: interstellar colonization.

There had only been four people aboard at launch—two men and two women. Carrying Earth's species gene bank, they had been permanently "exiled" to Proxima Centauri b.

Neither the mission nor the fuel allowed for a return journey.

The spacecraft's design was also extremely crude. Its long, slender shape made it terribly unsuitable for turning, and its sparse side thrusters doomed it to poor maneuverability.

Accelerate, accelerate, accelerate! Reaching one-sixth the speed of light—that had been its original purpose.

Communication still relied on electromagnetic waves. Just after departure, they had still been able to contact Earth, but now they had basically given up. They had become wanderers adrift in space, completely cut off from home.

Mining and collection capabilities, scanning and exploration capabilities, even combat capabilities—there was no need to mention them. They had all been sacrificed.

In order to reach Proxima Centauri b by 2045, the scientists had abandoned too much. Everything had been for