Correspondence

Microstory 2113: Earth, January 1, 2025

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Dear Readers,

Let me tell you a story. Roughly ten years ago, the scientific community began to take seriously the hypothesis that a Planet 9 existed somewhere beyond the orbit of Neptune. For centuries prior to that, nonscientific theories popularized the dream of a Planet X, but these were largely based on speculation, and a poor understanding of the data. It was only recently that any evidence legitimately supported the idea of a solar model that proposed such a wild explanation for this missing mass. Ten years from now, advances in astronomical observation technology will prove that a celestial body of significant mass does indeed exist, and that it is currently orbiting the sun about 1200 astronomical units away from us. About 108 years later, fusion rockets will be efficient and powerful enough to deploy a manned mission to the newly discovered celestial body, which they had since named Vacuus. Probes had been sent prior to this, at higher velocities due to lighter equipment, and no concern for life support, but they were all lost. No one could tell why, but their hearts were full of wonder, and the right candidates volunteered for what many called a suicide mission. Eighteen years later, the ship arrived at its destination, and began to unravel the mysteries of this cold, distant world. One of the passengers was a young woman whose mother brought her along when she was a baby. Corinthia Sloane always felt that something was missing in her life, and everything fell into place when she learned what everyone she had ever known had been keeping from her this whole time. She had a twin brother who she had never met. But the real problem was...she might never even have the chance now. The following letters comprise their initial correspondences, each one taking around a week to reach its destination, given the time lag imposed by vast interplanetary distances.

Yours fictionally,

Nick Fisherman III

Vacuus, August 14, 2178 Earth, August 21, 2178 Earth, August 23, 2178 Vacuus, August 28, 2178 Earth, September 4, 2178 Vacuus, September 12, 2178 Earth, September 19, 2178 Vacuus, September 26, 2178 Vacuus, October 18, 2178 Earth, October 25, 2178 Vacuus, November 2, 2178 Earth, November 10, 2178 Vacuus, November 18, 2178 Earth, November 25, 2178 Earth, December 9, 2178 Vacuus, December 16, 2178 Earth, December 24, 2178 Vacuus, December 31, 2178 Earth, January 7, 2178 Vacuus, January 15, 2179 Earth, January 22, 2179 Vacuus, January 31, 2179 Earth, February 3, 2179 Vacuus, February 16, 2179 Vacuus, February 17, 2179 Earth, February 24, 2179 Vacuus, March 4, 2179 Earth, March 11, 2179 Vacuss, March 18, 2179

Earth, March 25, 2179 Earth, April 2, 2179 Earth, April 9, 2179 Vacuus, April 16, 2179 Earth, April 23, 2179 Vacuus, April 30, 2179 Earth, May 8, 2179 Vacuus, May 18, 2179 Earth, May 25, 2179 Vacuus, June 1, 2179 Earth, June 8, 2179 Vacuus, June 15, 2179 Earth, June 23, 2179 Vacuus, June 30, 2179 Earth, July 7, 2179 Vacuus, July 16, 2179 Earth, July 23, 2179 Vacuus, July 30, 2179 Earth, August 1, 2179 Earth, August 6, 2179 Vacuus, August 9, 2179 Vacuus, August 13, 2179 Earth, August 17, 2179 Earth, August 20, 2179 Vacuus, August 28, 21789 Earth, September 5, 2179 Earth, September 6, 2179 Vacuus, September 13, 2179